Following the pause of tourism during Covid restrictions, many places reliant on visitors were champing at the bit to lure back holidaymakers once travel opened up again. But there are tourists β and then there are too many tourists. Post-pandemic, the influx of millions of visitors to tourist-strewn towns has, in some cases, risen to levels above those seen in Too much tourism threatens to disrupt residents and natural ecosystems and contribute to transport pollution.
Some destinations themselves have started taking a stand. Bans on cruise ships and short-term holiday rentals such as Airbnb , and caps on visitor numbers are among the ways destinations are trying to get a handle on escalating tourism, alongside championing considerate behaviour. Here are the destinations cracking down on tourism, from Mallorca to the Galapagos Islands.
Read more: Barcelona for Valencia and other holiday swaps to make to avoid the crowds. A new pilot system will start on 18 April and run until 27 July , and the fee will apply to Fridays as well as weekends and holidays for a total of 54 days. The canal city has also introduced new rules banning the use of loudspeakers and limiting tour group sizes to no more than 25 people.
The island of Capri proposed a barrier of buoys to stop boats from sailing too close to shore and prevent damage to its cove-filled coastline. Plans for a perimeter of 40 buoys m offshore for 3. The mayor of Anacapri, Franco Cerrotta, said that the barrier would also protect children in swimming areas from dangerous encounters with boats. Visitors to Rome may face severe fines or even bans at attractions in a crackdown on out-of-line tourist behaviour in the Italian capital.
The regulations may also incur a warning from police patrolling attractions. A stricter enforcement of the Budelli Island beach ban, first introduced over 30 years ago, stems from concerns that tourism poses a danger to the pink micro-organisms that live on the shore.
