Which cities have the worst overtourism problem?

  • We rank popular destinations on two measures

The Economist
Published3 Oct 2024, 06:00 PM IST
A woman holds a placard at a demonstration to protest against overtourism and house prices on the island of Mallorca on 21 July 21. Photo: AFP
A woman holds a placard at a demonstration to protest against overtourism and house prices on the island of Mallorca on 21 July 21. Photo: AFP

Cities everywhere are busy implementing measures to deter excess tourism. But most people agree holidaymakers offer an economic bounty. So what would the ideal tourist market look like? Residents would probably prefer a small number of high-spending visitors, to minimise disturbance and maximise revenues. Figures compiled by The Economist rank 20 popular destinations on their appeal to international travellers, and provide a sense of which cities are nearest to—and furthest from—this ideal.

Graphic: The Economist

Start with international arrivals. In absolute terms London and Tokyo led the field last year, with 20m visitors each, followed by Istanbul, with 17m. Global cities attract lots of visitors. Divide them by population, though, and Amsterdam, Paris and Milan claim the top three spots, with a remarkable ten, eight and six arrivals per resident. The Dutch city’s appeal may frustrate local officials. In recent years they have sought to stem the flood of tourists by reducing the supply of hotel accommodation, banning cruise ships and raising hotel taxes. In the end, it seems the lure of some lovely canals and gouda cheese, among other things, is too much to overcome.

Tourist spending—on attractions, accommodation, transport and the like—was highest in Dubai at $29bn last year, followed by London at $21bn and Singapore at $19bn. Amsterdam, Paris and Dubai earned the most on a per resident basis. The gap between high-ranking cities is surprisingly large. Visitors to Amsterdam spent four times as much, on such a basis, as those to Milan. If you cram an unfeasibly large number of tourists into a city, spending per resident rockets. An Amsterdam with fewer tourists would be a poorer city. Overcrowding has some upsides.

Some places, though, have stumbled across an even better state of affairs: bringing in big revenues without overcrowding. Visitors to Osaka, Japan’s ancient second city, spend $4,900 per local; those to Madrid spend $4,300. Neither city is particularly busy, with four and two visitors a year per resident, respectively. That will sound very attractive to residents of Amsterdam. Yet perhaps even a few tourists is still too many. Authorities in Osaka are considering charging foreign tourists an entry fee in order to combat “overtourism”. And anti-tourist graffiti has started to appear across Spain’s capital city.

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© 2024, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com

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First Published:3 Oct 2024, 06:00 PM IST
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