The vast glass palace of Great Yarmouth is a sign of regeneration. Winter Gardens is being refurbished The ornate Cafe 1903, located next to the Hippodrome, is always busy. But the booming tourist industry from the Edwardian period is long gone. Local historian Roger Silver says that when Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show visited in 1903, a tent could hold 5,000 people. The Bass Brewery took 10,000 workers from Burton upon Trent on a trip to the brewery a couple of year earlier. It took sixteen trains.”
It is not a coincidence that the same number visited the Italian mountain village of Roccaraso Rita de Crescenzo (influencer of Tik Tok) was present in January. The similarities stop there. Yarmouth’s invasion was met with no complaints while residents in Roccaraso reacted horrified. Francesco Di Donato threatened to call the army.
It seems that what was once a holiday crowd is now overtourism. Rory Boland of Which? magazine says that overtourism has overwhelmed Europe’s top destinations. Travel, which new report Details the pressure visitors have on destinations throughout the continent. The Greek island Zante (Zakynthos), where residents outnumber overnight stays 150 to 1, is the winner of the award for most tourist crowded resort. Elsewhere, Mallorca takes the prize for most overnight stays while Paris tops the tourist density index with a whopping 418,000 stays per sq km – vastly surpassing its nearest rival, Athens.
Boland says that it’s evident that some people feel the tipping point is near. “The negative side of a booming tourist trade – whether that’s increasing house prices, antisocial behaviour or pressure on local services – is outweighing the benefits.”
While the term “overtourism” is relatively recent, Prof Richard Butler of University of Strathclyde notes that complaints about the effects of crowds of tourist go back over a hundred years, at least in the case of Venice. In some places, Butler argues, it’s not the number of tourists that is the problem, but rather their behaviour. “Long-established destinations like Blackpool and Las Vegas do not seem to have complaints about overtourism. “They grew up in a place where tourism was the only thing going on, and that’s why their growth and focus have always been on tourism.”
Locations that are unfamiliar and, for whatever reason, cannot cope with the situation. Dubrovnik and Prague, for example, are old cities that are struggling. Butler believes that the wounds may sometimes be self-inflicted. He claims that Barcelona has been the subject of many media complaints regarding overtourism. But it deliberately focused tourism as a means of redevelopment. It started with the 1992 Olympic Games.
It can take a long time for marketing campaigns to adapt. Which? reports that the second-most crowded European tourist resort is Istria in Croatia. Istria is a Croatian region that’s still considered the “best-kept secrets” in the country. Which? suggestions of how best to avoid the crowds focus largely on eastern European destinations that get few visitors: Rybnik in Poland, Severoistočen in North Macedonia and parts of Romania.
Mircea Crisbășanu, who operates biking tours in Romania, says the south is very quiet. “Some villages have beautiful architecture and people are very friendly.”
Jan Mayen, a Norwegian island, has zero visitors and is the least visited destination in Europe. This is an unlikely holiday destination, as it’s located inside the Arctic Circle with special permission needed to visit.
Roger Silver, standing on the Haven Bridge in Great Yarmouth and looking down at quaysides once buzzing with activity. He says, “We’d love to see more cruise ships,” with a hint of wistfulness.
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Which? What are the busiest and most quiet travel destinations?
The highest tourist pressure (tourists for every 1,000 residents).
Zante (Zakynthos), Greece: 149,887
Istria county, Croatia: 133,467
Fuerteventura (Canary Islands): 118.720
Lowest tourist pressure (number of tourists per 1,000 residents).
Targovishte, Bulgaria: 332
Rybnik, Poland: 351
Benevento, Italy: 398
The highest number of tourists per square km
Paris: 418,280
Central Athens: 88,535
Copenhagen: 63,944
Lowest number per sq km of tourists
Jan Mayen, Norway: 0
Teleorman, Romania: 1.21
Svalbard, Norway: 2.4
The most overnight stays
Mallorca: 51,193,029
Paris: 43,919,010
Rome: 41,135,744
The minimum overnight stay
Jan Mayen: 0
Teleorman: 6,983
Zasavska, Slovenia: 22,990
