Top tourist destinations fight overtourism

Popular cities like Kyoto in Japan are trying to combat overtourism. Photo / 123rf

Tourist magnets like Kyoto, which on Tuesday announced plans to hike lodging taxes, and Venice, are on a crusade to deal with surging visitor numbers.

Here we look at some measures being taken worldwide to ease the pressure on bursting beaches and gridlocked streets:

Chock-a-block city centres

Venice, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, is trying to limit the influx of tourists into its historic centre by charging day trippers for entry.

Rolled out for 29 days between April and July in 2024, the pay period will be extended this year to 54 days.

Rome has also clamped down on crowds around its iconic Trevi Fountain, limiting visitors to 400 a day after previously attracting hoards of up to 12,000.

Authorities there are also mulling charging an entry fee.

In Spain, the second most popular tourist destination in the world behind France, several chock-a-block cities have made moves to appease their disgruntled inhabitants.

The Basque seaside town of San Sebastian now limits tourist group numbers to 25 people and guides are not allowed to use loudspeakers.

Barcelona, nestled on the coast of the Mediterranean, has done the same, with organised groups allowed a maximum of 20 and no megaphones.

Stemming cruise flows

The jewel of the Adriatic, Dubrovnik in Croatia, has seen a huge surge in visitor numbers since scenes from the series Game of Thrones were filmed on the ramparts of the medieval walled city in 2011.

In 2019 local authorities limited the number of cruise ship arrivals to two per day, with no more than 4000 passengers at a time.

Amsterdam, among its many initiatives to fight overtourism, has pledged to halve the number of river cruise ships in the city within five years.

Maya Bay: Paradise lost

Made famous by the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach, Maya Bay on the Thai island of Koh Phi Phi Ley has been ravaged by years of mass tourism, swamped by some 4000 daily visitors.

In a bid to restore its devastated coral reefs, the beach was closed for nearly four years from 2018, reopening in 2022 with new rules for visitors.

Lascaux caves: Replicas

Discovered in 1940, the Lascaux caves in France have been described as the Sistine Chapel of prehistoric art, containing nearly 2000 paintings.

Tourists have been barred from visiting the original site since 1963 because the carbon dioxide they exhaled was damaging the paintings.

But three replica sites, built between 1983 and 2016, allow visitors the chance to admire the spectacular cave while preserving the original.

Fuji fee

Besides Kyoto, Japanese authorities have also taken steps to control access to Mt Fuji, introducing an entry fee of 2000 yen ($13) and a daily cap on hiker numbers.

In a town near Mt Fuji in May 2024 authorities mounted a large barrier at a popular viewing spot next to a convenience store in an bid to deter photo-taking.

- Agence France-Presse