Overtourism: You should avoid these destinations this summer!

Overtourism: You should avoid these destinations this summer!

Popular travel destinations are increasingly under pressure from overtourism, which manifests itself in the form of excessive tourists and the associated negative consequences. This issue led to the development of the first overtourism index by Roland Berger and Evaneos, which evaluates travel destinations worldwide. This index classifies destinations on a scale from 1 (low risk) to 5 (extreme impact), enabling a differentiated assessment of the impact of tourism. calf reports that some destinations are already experiencing significant damage due to overtourism, including increased prices, overcrowded places and a deteriorated quality of life for local residents.

Overtourism is particularly noticeable in popular holiday destinations such as Greece, Croatia and Cyprus. Greece reaches an index score of 4.2, making it the worst affected nation, particularly on the islands of Mykonos and Santorini. The effects are clear here: the streets are overcrowded, prices are rising and the water supply is suffering. Croatia (3.8) and Cyprus (4.4) are also on the list of travel destinations at high risk. According to the analysis, summer congestion is also evident in other European hotspots such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. These countries experience an index value of 3.6, highlighting the challenge of seasonal visitor flows.

Insights into the Overtourism Index

The Overtourism Index evaluates destinations based on four key criteria: the number of international travelers per capita, the density of international travelers per square kilometer, the seasonal concentration of tourists and the level of sustainability. The survey covers 70 of the world's 100 most popular travel destinations and narrows down the problem using objective data in order to exclude subjective impressions dayticket.io notes.

The analysis categorizes destinations into different groups, including “watched destinations” like Morocco (3.1) and “watched destinations” like Canada (2.3) and the US (1.7). Countries in the high risk category often struggle with adverse environmental impacts and a poor recreational experience for travelers. These extremely vulnerable destinations include beach and urban destinations, with an average index of 4 for beach destinations.

Measures to combat overtourism

Measures must be taken to combat the harmful effects of mass tourism. Evaneos plans to stop trips to the congested destinations of Santorini and Mykonos from the 2025 summer season. Instead, tourism demand should be directed to alternative regions such as the Peloponnese in order to protect natural resources and promote more sustainable tourism development. New regulations have also come into force in Indonesia to minimize the consequences of the high volume of visitors.

Overall, the overtourism index aims to provide the tourism industry with decision-making aids and to identify measures for better distribution of tourist flows in order to protect the quality of life of local residents and the environment. Roland Berger, as a consulting company with a focus on sustainable development in tourism, supports these efforts and ensures that 85% of the income from trips supported by Evaneos flows directly back to the local economy.