Zakynthos: Europe's tourist hotspot number 1 - 150 vacationers per inhabitant!

Zakynthos: Europe's tourist hotspot number 1 - 150 vacationers per inhabitant!

Zakynthos, Griechenland - The Greek island of Zakynthos (also known as Zante) has established itself as the most overcrowded travel destination in Europe, according to a recent study by the British portal "which? Travel". With almost 150,000 overnight stays per 1,000 inhabitants, Zakynthos has a terrifyingly high value of around 150 tourists per inhabitant. With a population of around 40,000 people, this means that around 6 million overnight guests visit the island annually, which makes them the "capital of overtourism", such as Swabian reported.

The study identifies Zakynthos as a symbol of overtourism, using three indicators: the number of tourists per inhabitant, the density of tourists per square kilometer and the total number of overnight stays. In these criteria, Zakynthos achieves the highest score in the tourist category per inhabitant. The local infrastructure and the communities on the island suffer from this high number of visitors. Traffic congestion, overloaded services and rising rents represent serious problems.

comparison of the top travel destinations

The list of the most affected travel destinations in Europe shows how serious the problem of overtourism is. After Zakynthos, Istria in Croatia follows 133.5 tourists per inhabitant and Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands, with a value of 118.7. This overtourism ranking shows the challenges with which many European travel destinations are confronted and raises questions about the sustainability of tourism.

• Zakynthos, Greece: 149,887 overnight stays per 1,000 inhabitants
• Istria, Croatia: 133,467 overnight stays per 1,000 inhabitants
• Fuerteventura, Canary Islands: 118,720 overnight stays per 1,000 inhabitants

The high number of visitors lead to growing concerns about the quality of life of the locals and put the need for smarter tourism policy. The influence of mass tourism can also be felt in larger cities, so Paris has the highest tourist density with 418,280 tourists per square kilometer. Athens and Copenhagen are also among the most affected cities in Europe with 88,535 and 63,944 tourists per square kilometer, as in the report of Neoskosmos

It is obvious that the continuing influx of tourists not only affects the experience and the cultural scene of the travelers, but also the everyday life of life of the residents. Therefore, a critical examination of the sustainability of tourism is essential in the long term in order to take into account the needs of everyone involved.