From Amsterdam to Vienna, the fight against overtourism in Europe is being stepped up

A surge in visitor numbers that has swamped cities in Europe has prompted measures to control tourism, such as Venice’s new entry fee for day trippers

Amsterdam warned the young party crowd to stay away; Barcelona limited tour groups and cracked down on Airbnb rentals; Dubrovnik put a quota on cruise ships

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Gondoliers proceed slowly near the crowded Sospiri Bridge close to St Mark’s Square in Venice because of heavy water traffic. The city this week began charging day-trippers for entry, the latest measure by a European tourist destination to try to control visitor numbers. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 5:15pm, 28 Apr 2024

European tourist hotspots such as Amsterdam, and Venice which introduced a new measure to regulate tourism on April 25, are at bursting point. They have embarked on a crusade to control surging visitor numbers.

In Venice, Italy, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, 3.2 million visitors stayed overnight in the historic centre in 2022 – dwarfing the resident population of just 50,000.

On Thursday, it started charging day trippers for entry. Day visitors had to buy a €5 (US$5.30) ticket, monitored by inspectors carrying out spot checks at key points across the Unesco World Heritage site.

In 2021, it banned huge cruise ships from Venice lagoon over concerns about the environmental impact of the huge liners on the city.

Venice has also introduced a tax for overnight visitors.

In the Netherlands, Amsterdam has long been trying to clean up a reputation for rowdy stag parties, drugs and sex that has been partly blamed on an influx of around 20 million visitors a year.