Tourism chaos: overcrowded beaches and records in Europe!

Tourism chaos: overcrowded beaches and records in Europe!

Mass tourism in Europe is becoming increasingly clear in strongly frequented vacation destinations. A current report by the Federal Statistical Office, which is based on Eurostat numbers, emphasizes the serious differences in tourism intensity within Europe. Especially in southern Aegean, the relationship between locals and tourists is particularly unbalanced. In 2023, impressive 117 tourist overnight stays per inhabitant were recorded there, as Tagesschau

The Ionian Islands, which also includes Corfu, follow with 98 nights per inhabitant. Other regions also show high values: South Tyrol achieves around 68 nights per inhabitant, while the Croatian Adriatic coast 67 and the Balearic Islands reach 57 overnight stays. The latter also faces protests in Mallorca, which were triggered by high rents. In contrast, there are some regions in Poland and Romania that have only small number of tourists.

Top travel destinations in Europe

in Germany Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania records the highest tourism intensity with 18 overnight stays per inhabitant and thus ranked 17th in the entire EU. Upper Bavaria, especially Munich, is the most visited German travel destination with 41.6 million overnight stays. The Canary Islands, on the other hand, take the top position as the most popular holiday destination in Europe, with 95.6 million overnight stays in 2023 alone. There are an average of 262,000 overnight stays per day, such as Presseportal noted.

• Canary Islands: 95.6 million overnight stays
• Croatian Adriatic coast: 87.3 million
• Catalonia: 85.6 million
• île-de-france: 85.2 million
• Andalusia: 73.9 million

The average overnight stay on the Canary Islands is 43 nights per capita, which classifies in 10th place in the tourism intensity. With regard to the economic influence of tourism, it is of considerable importance for the hospitality industry in Greece, with a share of 7.1 % in gross value added. In Spain, this proportion is 6.7 % and 6.4 % in Croatia. Germany, on the other hand, has the lowest share in the EU with only 1.5 %.

The data includes overnight stays in various types of accommodation such as hotels, inns, holiday accommodations and campsites, but not in private accommodation or rehabilitation clinics. Such statistics illustrate the economic and social challenges associated with mass tourism, especially in popular holiday regions.