Tourism and travel have made an astonishing return over the past few months. Crippled to it’s core by a global pandemic, tourism around the world grinded to a complete halt for 2 years. Now with an overwhelming amount of tourists visiting European hotspots, countries are taking steps to limit the number of visitors and prevent overtourism.
With the successful help of vaccination efforts around the globe, dozens of countries have loosened entry restrictions, some nations have even taken a ‘post-covid’ approach and learned to live with the virus – removing entry restrictions entirely.
People more than ever are willing and eager to travel, and many destinations are feeling the pressure. The numbers are so high in fact that popular vacation spots in Europe are unable to manage the number of tourists that they receive.
Marseille initiates a permit system.
Marseille located in southern France is one of the most popular tourist destinations in France. Filled with beautiful beaches and romantic quaint streets, Marseille is often considered the heart of the French Rivera.
This port city has been hit by over tourism for a while now, in recent years however it has gotten a lot worse. Now the city is trying to make a change.
The famous Calanque de Sugiton and beach nearby will now require visitors to apply for an online pass prior to arriving. Visitors will have the chance to make an online reservation up to 3 days prior and at 6pm the night before, the registration will be closed.
City officials will be patrolling the area and doing spot checks to ensure visitors are compliant with the new policy.
Daily numbers for visitors will be restricted to 400 people and one person can only visit the site 8 times for the duration of the summer.
This new approach will go into effect from the end of June all the way until the end of August.
Amalfi Coast to implement alternate plate restriction.
A few hundred miles away the Amalfi Coast is implementing their own rules to combat excessive tourism.
Local officials are beginning a new system that alternates who can access the famous 35-kilometer road between Vietri sul Mae and Positano.
On odd number days, only cars with odd number ending license plates are allowed to drive on the road. On even number days, cars with even number ending license plates can take to the famous street.
This new policy will run from the middle of June, all the way through the end of September 2022.
10am to 6pm on weekends, as well as during the Easter Holy week holiday.
However, residents of the region are exempt. So are public buses and taxis.
This isn’t the first-time officials in Europe have tried to combat over tourism.
Venice who at the height of summer receives up to 150,000 tourists per day has stopped cruise ships from docking in its ports because the city could not sustain the number of tourists it was receiving.
Local businesses were overrun with tourists, the canals overfilled, and locals were outnumbered 50 to 1.
The dangers of overtourism
Overtourism can wreak havoc on local municipals and the people that reside there. From hour-long traffic lanes, high cost of living and too many people in a limited space will always create challenges.
Europe has some of the most visited countries in the world; from Spain, Germany, Italy, and the U.K. everyone of these countries has their own challenges with over tourism.
One thing is for sure, restrictions on over tourism needs to be at the forefront of these nations in order to preserve the quality of life for locals and their surrounding environment.
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