Tourism has become a stigma in 2024. The accumulation of visitors spurred by “revenge travel” after the pandemic has resulted in record numbers of tourists in almost every major destination – be it Portugal or Spain. Suffice to say, tourism has not only recovered but surpassed pre-pandemic numbers.
That’s not the only thing that’s changed: there has been a notable shift in residents’ attitudes towards visitors in cities that welcome millions a year. Residents of Barcelona took to the streets, innocently, and also in Spain.
In Scandinavia, shame about flying has become more widespread (with tourists opting to travel on trains). Meanwhile, some Londoners have found a creative way to deliberately steer tourists to disappointing restaurants, fearing they will flock to the city’s hidden gems if they don’t.
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City councils took matters into their own hands by instituting daily visitor limits. Short-term rentals were also on this year’s list of repeals, as Budapest voted to ban them in October, and parts of from next year.
“The tide is changing and local councils/governments are taking back control, some following the rules, others through more informal/guerrilla tactics,” said Caroline Bremner, senior head of travel research at data analytics firm Euromonitor. International, at Fortune.
While 2024 marks a turning point in overtourism, with a record $1.9 billion in tourism spending, the trend has been a long time in the making, she added.
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Not only will tourism be more difficult, it will also cost more. Take Venice, for example. This year, which will extend until 2025. In short, tourism will never be the same again.
What is triggering the backlash?
Much of the recent backlash from locals is because tourism is costing a lower quality of life and increasing housing costs. With an increase in the number of properties dedicated to hospitality, .
“The protests that have unfolded over the last 12 months are the result of an abject failure to communicate the genuine benefits of tourism to ordinary people. In many cases, tourism has been unfairly scapegoated for long-standing issues such as the persistent housing crisis,” said Alex Penadés, CMO at Spanish property management company Avantio.
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Part of what we see today can be explained by tourism study models such as the Irritation Index (or “Irridex”), in which locals’ attitudes toward tourism gradually change as the number of visitors increases, decreasing the quality of life.
“The main reason is that the places that are experiencing overtourism are places that didn’t take steps to prevent this from happening years and years ago,” Richard Butler, emeritus professor of hospitality and tourism management at the University of Strathclyde, told Fortune in August. “Tourism is a mixed blessing. Bring all the money and bring disturbance“.
It’s a difficult situation for these cities because it can be complicated to vilify the industry that has become an important economic engine and job creator. Around 10% of the European Union’s GDP comes from tourism, although this figure is higher in some cities. Tourism revenues in 2024 are on track to eclipse those in 2023.
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Still, the status quo clearly isn’t working, as more arrivals don’t always mean more money for local economies. Government policies and the management of cities’ capabilities are ultimately what makes tourism viable. The resistance seen by local residents this year may just be the tip of the iceberg, and if things don’t change, they could look even bleaker next year.
What can 2025 hold for tourism?
Penadés thinks that 2025 will be “the year of travel control“. “Travelers can make more efforts to avoid viral hotspots that have become synonymous with heated protests in recent months, rather than choosing locations where they can avoid the crowds and stigma of contributing to the ‘overtourism’ problem,” he said.
Avoiding cities that become overloaded with tourists during peak holiday season could be the new secret weapon for vacation planners. Kathy McCabe, travel expert who hosts a TV series called Dream of Italysaid this also points to a broader pivot that is underway in response to the cloud of overtourism hanging over cities.
“This trend toward intentional travel reflects a broader industry pivot – one that seeks to balance the economic benefits of tourism with the urgent need to protect iconic sites at risk of being permanently damaged by overtourism,” she told Fortune.
Travelers, tourism boards and individual communities are responsible for dispersing tourists beyond the few iconic cities. According to Skyscanner, a travel aggregator, the barrier to opening doors to little-visited cities and enjoying the economic benefits of tourism is that potential tourists are not always aware of enough things to do or how to get around.
By making this information accessible, countries like Greece can increase tourist traffic while limiting the negative impacts of tourism on communities.
“2025 should mark a new dawn“, said Euromonitor’s Bremner.
Originally published in Fortune.com
