With Europe’s visitor volume and travel back up to, and in some cases above pre-pandemic levels, there’s also a rise in complaints about over-tourism and the crowding of picturesque but small places.
The Austrian town of Hallstatt, for an extreme, has put up wooden barriers along a popular trail, often used by selfie-seekers to get views of themselves against the Alps, the lake and the town’s church with its painted steeple. The village has 750 residents, but was drawing a million visitors a year before Covid.
Several villages in Italy have placed restrictions on roadways and popular viewpoints as well, trying to avoid visitor-caused traffic jams while still benefiting from their spending.
And it’s not only small towns; Amsterdam is raising its tourist tax to a higher level, saying that the cost of infrastructure, maintenance and enforcement is not being covered by the existing tax. Meanhile Barcelona is barring both visitors and locals from one of the most popular sunset-viewing spots, the Bunkers del Carmen, saying that it has led to all-night parties, drugs and noise.
