Since travel came alive after the pandemic, people have returned to traveling, sometimes ending with too many tourists. Due to this, some European countries are making an effort to reduce overtourism, and not just with visitor taxes.

For instance, Venice is introducing a day tripper tax on visitors, while banning large cruise ships from its port. Moreover, since that was announced, the popular Italian city has been testing a program where it bans groups of 25 or more tourists from strolling through the city. Amsterdam is raising its visitor taxes on accommodations by almost double and is introducing other measures. Moreover, the city is also banning large cruise ships from its harbor.

Europe fighting overtourism

Among the measures to fight overtourism, the introduction of an online travel authorization through the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) is delayed until 2025. However, measures in major European destinations are launching environmental protections to maintain a quality of life for residents. Moreover, the preservation of a city’s cultural heritage goes beyond tourism tax.

One measure taken in Amsterdam bans buses weighing more than 7.5 tons from the city center, unless they have a special exemption. Moreover, the Dutch city is moving its iconic Red Light District, due to unwelcome tourists getting rowdy and disturbing the locals. Moreover, the Netherlands city published videos in an effort to scare away drunken visitors.

Tourism taxes in Paris

Making tourists pay extra during their visit can work as a detriment to overtourism. Paris is hosting the Olympics later this summer and is raising its tourist tax by over 200 percent to bring in money for the city’s public transportation system.

However, the City of Light is also fighting overtourism by getting social media influencers to recommend other parts of the country. On a positive note, the city is working to clean the River Seine so people can swim.

Other cities battling overtourism

Meanwhile, in Italy, Florence and Rome are seeking to reduce visitors by limiting the number of short-term rentals. Moreover, in September 2023, Greece set a limit on daily visitors to the iconic Acropolis in Athens.

Other attractions that are trying to cap visitor numbers include Calanques National Park in Marseille and the Louvre in Paris. In Italy, Villa de Balbianello near Lake Como is capping numbers along with the historic Old Town in Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Portugal is also joining the battle by levying a new tourist tax on cruise line passengers visiting Lisbon. While it might seem inconvenient to travelers, they must bear in mind that the European cities aren’t trying to chase them away. They just want to make life easier not only for local residents but also to make the tourism experience more enjoyable.

Readers can find out more about overtourism in Europe here.