Fed up with housing shortages, traffic, noise, pollution and litter, many popular destinations in Europe are swapping their ‘come-to-us’ tourism campaigns for ‘please-don’t’ anti-tourism strategies — and some of the measures to discourage visitors are quite severe.
Literally overrun by tourists, a number of the most iconic destinations have become unlivable for local residents and overcrowded, unsafe and uncomfortable for visitors. The beauty, serenity and simplicity of many of the most bucolic and sought-after destinations in Europe can’t survive millions of annual arrivals.
Although it hasn’t reached the level of an official issue for the European Union government, the debate around how to handle tourist overflows has started. Tremendous numbers of tourists — once the golden goose for these hot spots — are precisely the cause of the current backlash.
