Amsterdam
Amsterdam has long tried to shake off its reputation for rowdy stag parties, drugs and sex, which contribute to its annual influx of about 20 million tourists.
In 2023, it launched an online campaign aimed at discouraging young British men from traveling to Amsterdam while high or drunk, and in typical Dutch directness, it launched an online campaign aimed at discouraging young British men from traveling to Amsterdam while high or drunk. ”, otherwise they risked being arrested.
Amsterdam also announced last week that it would ban new hotel construction and halve the number of river cruise ships in the city within five years.
Last year, it also decided to ban smoking marijuana on the streets of the entertainment district.
Hallstatt and Salzburg in Austria
The tiny village of Hallstatt, which has a population of just 750 people not far from Salzburg and bears a striking resemblance to the fictional kingdom of Arendelle in Disney’s Frozen, was photographed last year. Residents erected a fence around the famous view to stop people taking photos, causing a huge uproar. . Following social media backlash, the village, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, removed its fence, but signs remind visitors to enjoy the place in peace.
Residents who support tourism restrictions in the village, which sees up to 10,000 tourists a day during the high season, also held protests.They want to limit numbers and ban tour buses from operating in town after 5 p.m.
Not far from Hallstatt, Salzburg, a city made famous for classical music, Hollywood classics and Christmas songs, also complained about mass tourism and the risk of “crowding with large numbers of tourists and day-trippers.” ing.
“All we’re looking for is people staying overnight,” said Christine Schoenhuber, the city’s tourism director. Cities in western Austria have not yet taken concrete measures, but have floated ideas such as closing some roads to vehicles and imposing restrictions on souvenir shops. The city is also considering closing the bus terminal in the city’s Plaza Mirabell to day tour companies, allowing only companies transporting overnight guests.
Iseltwald, Switzerland
The quaint Swiss village of Iseltwald has been forced to limit the number of tourists after fans of South Korea’s hit Netflix show flocked to the area in droves, sparking a backlash from local residents.
Iseltwald is often called the pearl of Lake Brienz, and rightly so. This fishing village, located on the left bank of the river, is one of the smallest communities in canton Bern, and the locals want to keep it that way.
The photo taken on June 2, 2023 shows the village of Iseltwald on the shores of Lake Brienz in the Swiss Alps. Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Dubrovnik
Croatia’s medieval walled city of Dubrovnik is one of the most congested cities in Europe, with the flow of tourists sometimes making it impossible to walk through the historic Old Town.
The jewel of the Adriatic has seen a significant increase in visitor numbers since 2011, when scenes from the Game of Thrones series were filmed on its ramparts.
The town of 41,000 welcomed 1.2 million tourists in 2023, lower than the 2019 record of 1.4 million.
In 2019, local authorities limited cruise ship arrivals to two per day and no more than 4,000 passengers at a time.
It also launched an app that uses machine learning and weather forecasting to predict when Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be busiest.
