The end of the world is in Portugal. Well, okay, end of the world. The Cabo de São Vicente in the Algarve is the most southwestern point in Europe. There the sea rages against the cliffs and fog is a regular guest. It is a mystical place. Deserted, it appears wild and unruly. The wind that blows there tastes of freedom. Unfortunately, word has gotten around. The spot is on almost every bucket list, which means that visitors to the Cape now experience more funfair than nature. The Cabo de São Vicente is far from alone with this problem. Overtourism, the term that stands for too much tourism, is causing problems for more and more popular travel destinations.
Whether Lisbon, Paris or Barcelona, many places are so overcrowded in high season that travelers now often see more the backs of heads than sights. Anyone who wants to visit the Sagrada Familia or the Colosseum has little chance if the ticket has not been purchased in advance. And the beaches are so crowded that tanning vertically becomes a real option. In short: the masses of tourists ensure that the original reason for traveling to the places is destroyed. Nature is suffering, and so are the locals.
Resistance to overtourism
There has been resistance for a long time. The locals, who are increasingly being pushed out of the centers due to the influx of tourists, want their cities and their living space back. This can be seen on house walls with anti-tourism slogans sprayed on them and on night patrols that want to combat the effects of fun tourism. But something is also happening on the official side. The regulations for Airbnb rentals have already been tightened in some places. In Amsterdam, the city administration has even gone so far as to introduce a tourism quota.
We use five examples in the photo series to show the means used to combat mass tourism in the hotspots.