We Americans love to travel—it’s practically a competitive sport at this point. But while we’re busy planning our perfect Instagram shots and hunting down the “most authentic” local spots, some destinations are quietly wishing we’d just… stay home. It’s not personal (okay, maybe sometimes it is), but over-tourism has turned some of the world’s most beautiful places into themed playgrounds where locals can barely afford to live in their own neighborhoods. Here’s a brutally honest look at the places where our presence isn’t exactly welcomed with open arms.
1. Venice, Italy
The floating city is sinking under the weight of tourism, and locals aren’t exactly thrilled about it. Every morning, an army of cruise ships dumps thousands of tourists into the narrow streets, turning what was once the most powerful maritime republic in Europe into a chaotic theme park. The remaining 50,000 actual Venetians (down from 175,000 in the 1950s, according to The New York Times) are fighting a losing battle against souvenir shops replacing grocery stores and Airbnbs eating up the housing market.
The city’s gone so far as to install turnstiles to control crowd flow and is planning to charge entrance fees—basically turning the entire city into a museum. When your local government has to install crowd control measures like you’re a rowdy nightclub, that’s probably a sign you’re not the most welcome guest at the party.
2. Barcelona, Spain
Remember when Barcelona was just a cool city with great architecture and better food? Well, the locals remember too, and they’re not thrilled with what mass tourism has done to their homes. The city has become ground zero for the battle against overtourism, with “Tourists Go Home” graffiti becoming as common as Gaudí buildings, as reported by The New York Times. Residents of the Gothic Quarter have basically been priced out of their own neighborhood, replaced by party hostels and tourist apartments.
The situation’s gotten so intense that Barcelona’s government had to step in with strict regulations on new hotels and tourist accommodations. Local activists aren’t just complaining about noisy pub crawls and drunk tourists anymore—they’re organizing protests and demanding real change. When people are spray painting their feelings about you on walls, you’ve overstayed your welcome.
3. Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Dutch capital has officially had it with being Europe’s go-to destination for bachelor parties and wild weekends. The city’s famous tolerance has reached its limits, particularly with tourists who see it as nothing more than a place to get high and act foolish. The government’s actively trying to discourage certain types of tourism with campaigns literally telling rowdy visitors to “stay away.”
Local residents are fed up with their historic city center turning into what they call an “urban jungle” at night, complete with drunk tourists urinating in the canals and treating the Red Light District like a human zoo. The city’s even considering moving the Red Light District altogether and has already banned usage on the streets there, according to CNN—which tells you just how desperate they are to change their city’s reputation.
4. Kyoto, Japan
The former imperial capital of Japan is experiencing what locals call “tourism pollution.” The city’s traditional neighborhoods, especially in Gion, have been so overrun with tourists trying to spot geishas and get the perfect selfie that residents have had to put up signs begging visitors not to harass maikos (apprentice geishas) or peer into private homes—because apparently, that needs to be said.
According to Travel + Leisure, the situation got so bad that the city had to ban photography on private streets in Gion and implement fines for tourist harassment. When a culture known for its politeness and hospitality starts putting up “no photography” signs and issuing fines, you know the tourism situation has gotten out of hand.
5. Santorini, Greece
Those pristine white buildings with blue domes? They’re actually someone’s home, not just your Instagram backdrop. The island’s infrastructure is buckling under the weight of tourism, with water shortages becoming a regular summer occurrence. Locals have watched their quiet island village transform into a cruise ship parking lot, with up to 18,000 visitors descending on the island daily during peak season.
The mayor has had to cap the number of cruise ship visitors to 8,000 per day, which is still more than the island’s actual population. When your tourist population regularly outnumbers your local population by several times, you might be part of the problem.
6. Machu Picchu, Peru
The ancient Incan citadel wasn’t built to handle 4,000 selfie-taking tourists a day, and both the site and local communities are feeling the strain. The UNESCO World Heritage site has had to implement strict time slots and mandatory guides to prevent the ancient stones from being literally loved to death. Local communities in the Sacred Valley are watching their ancestral lands turn into hotel developments and tourist markets.
The situation’s gotten so serious that there’s talk of building a new international airport nearby, which local communities are fighting tooth and nail. When people are protesting the very infrastructure that would bring you to their region, that’s a pretty clear sign you’re not top of their guest list.
7. Reykjavik, Iceland
Iceland’s capital has gone from hidden gem to tourist hotspot so fast that the city’s struggling to keep up. The country of 364,000 people hosted over 2 million tourists in 2019, and locals are feeling the squeeze. Housing prices have skyrocketed as downtown apartments get converted into Airbnbs, and traditional businesses are being replaced by tourist bars.
The city’s character is changing so rapidly that locals joke about needing a passport to visit their own downtown. When the entire country’s population could fit in a medium-sized city but you’re getting millions of tourists a year, something’s got to give.
8. Prague, Czech Republic
The City of a Hundred Spires has become the city of a thousand pub crawls, and locals are over it. The historic center has been essentially hollowed out, with traditional businesses replaced by tourist traps and cheap souvenir shops. The city’s famous astronomical clock is now surrounded by more selfie sticks than actual Prague residents.
The situation in the city center has gotten so bad that locals avoid it entirely, creating a weird parallel city where tourists and residents rarely interact. When locals have to create their own version of the city just to avoid tourists, you might want to reconsider your impact.
9. Queenstown, New Zealand
This adrenaline capital of the world is giving locals heart palpitations for all the wrong reasons. The small town of about 15,000 permanent residents hosts around 3 million visitors annually, leading to traffic jams in a place that used to be known for its pristine natural beauty. Housing costs have increased so much that workers in the tourism industry can barely afford to live in the town they serve.
The town’s infrastructure is creaking under pressure, with sewage systems and roads designed for a small town trying to handle big city numbers. When local service workers have to live in shared houses an hour away from their jobs, something’s wrong.
10. Phuket, Thailand
Thailand’s largest island has become a cautionary tale of overtourism. The once-pristine beaches are now more likely to feature beer bottles than seashells, and local communities have been pushed aside to make way for mega-resorts. The island’s famous Maya Bay had to be closed entirely to recover from tourism damage, which should tell you something about the scale of the problem.
The local government has had to implement strict environmental regulations and consider tourist quotas just to prevent further damage. When a tropical paradise has to close its beaches to prevent them from being destroyed by tourism, maybe it’s time to reconsider our travel habits.
11. Cinque Terre, Italy
These five picturesque fishing villages have become victims of hit-and-run tourism, where visitors literally run between towns trying to tick off all five in a single day. The narrow hiking trails connecting these centuries-old communities are now so clogged with tourists trying to recreate that perfect Pinterest shot that the parks service had to introduce ticketing systems just to prevent trampling. The locals, whose families have worked these steep vineyard terraces for generations, are watching their agricultural heritage turn into what they sarcastically call “The Five Lands Theme Park.”
The situation has gotten so absurd that the villages had to hire “anti-sandwich police” to prevent tourists from having impromptu picnics on church steps and doorways. They’ve even had to paint “no selfie” zones at dangerous cliff edges because apparently, common sense takes a holiday when people are chasing social media clout.
12. Banff, Canada
This mountain town in the Canadian Rockies has become the poster child for national park overtourism, with a twist of housing crisis on the side. The town’s strict development limits (you literally need to prove you work there to live there) mean housing is scarce. Meanwhile, visitors are loving the place to death, with wildlife becoming so habituated to humans that bears are treating parking lots like their personal buffet.
The town’s essentially become a real-life snow globe, with workers crammed into shared housing while tourists flood the streets taking photos of elk wandering through town like they’re part of some Canadian safari. Local businesses are struggling to stay open not because of lack of customers, but because their workers can’t afford to live within an hour’s drive of their jobs.
13. Petra, Jordan
The ancient rose-red city is facing a thoroughly modern problem: Instagram tourism. The local Bedouin communities, who’ve lived in the area for generations, are watching their ancestral home turn into a backdrop for influencer photo shoots. Tourists are climbing all over 2,000-year-old monuments, ignoring signs and guides, all while treating the local caretakers like props in their personal adventure movie.
The site’s managers had to create specific “Instagram spots” just to prevent people from scrambling up ancient facades for the perfect shot. Meanwhile, traditional Bedouin knowledge and cultural practices are being reduced to quick camel rides and staged “authentic” experiences. When an ancient wonder of the world needs designated selfie spots to prevent archaeological damage, maybe we need to rethink our approach.
