The Over Tourism Map

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Overtourism happens when there are so many visitors at a location that it negatively impacts locals and/or tourists themselves. Some effects of over-tourism are:

• locals and tourists alike are stuck in overcrowded streets, public spaces or public transport
• tourist gentrification forces residents out of certain areas
• local traditions and institutions being lost and being replaced by souvenir shops
  negative impacts on the environment.

The country shading shows which countries have the most tourists in comparison to their population. However, over-tourism isn’t the same as mass tourism. Some locations are able to cope with millions of tourists, while others struggle to handle a small increase.

The greener a country the more likely it is that you’re surrounded by locals during peak season.

The tourists per capita map below is based on the number of tourists who visited the country over the course of 12 months.

Top 10 countries with the highest number of tourists per capita

1. Iceland – 6.52 tourists/resident
2. Croatia – 3.78 tourists/resident
3. The Bahamas – 3.64 tourists/resident
4. Austria – 3.34 tourists/resident
5. Cyprus – 3.01 tourists/resident
6. Montenegro – 3.02 tourists/resident
7. Greece – 2.53 tourists/resident
8. Estonia – 2.47 tourists/resident
9. Ireland – 2.15 tourists/resident
10. Denmark – 2.04 tourists/resident

Every city or location that is marked with a red dot is either struggling with over-tourism or has been repeatedly mentioned in news articles and research related to over-tourism.

Top 10 cities with the highest number of tourists per capita

1. Cinnque Terre (Italy) – 4800 tourists/resident
2. Hallstatt (Austria) – 1283 tourists/resident
3. Dubrovnik’s Old Town (Croatia) – 1000 tourist/resident
4. Venice (Italy) – 364.64 tourists/resident
5. Santorine (Greece) – 128.62 tourists/resident
6. Salzburg (Austria) – 45.94 tourists/resident
7. Kyoto (Japan) – 36.39 tourists/resident
8. Palma de Mallorca (Spain) – 32.26 tourists/resident
9. Jeju Island (South Korea) – 24.8 tourists/resident
10. Amsterdam (Netherland) – 22.5 tourists/resident