Compulsory reservation, limited access … How European countries are trying to face surcourism

In an attempt to calm the harmful effects of surcourism, some European countries are increasing restriction measures. A way to make stays more pleasant, but also respect biodiversity.

Tourism, vector of consumption, jobs … but also emissions of greenhouse gases, pressure on natural resources and waste production. Faced with these threats, initiatives to limit surcourism are multiplying everywhere in Europe. Surcourism, which entered the Little Robert This year is defined as “A tourist presence perceived as excessive and harmful”for places as for the local population.

These inhabitants make it known loud and clear, as in recent months in several cities in Spain, as in Barcelona. Faced with this anger, in a city which welcomes an average of 170,000 visitors per day, the town hall has promised not to renew the licenses of thousands of tourist apartments by the end of 2028. It will also reduce its capacity of cruise ships from 2030. Croatia has also set up restrictions of arrivals by the sea in Dubrovnik, while in Greece, each cruise maker must now pay 20 euros To be able to dock in high season in Santorini and Mykonos.

The town hall of Amsterdam plans to restrict city access to cruise ships. But also to establish a maximum ceiling of tourists each year, to restrict short -term rentals or to attract tourists to so far less frequented neighborhoods.

In Venice, a global example of surcourism, the restriction of tourist flows now involves a tax. The city renews its paid entry system this summer this summer when only one day is spent. It is now necessary to book and pay, between 5 and 10 euros, to be able to access it in times of overhaul. Restrictions also on the Pompeii site, still in Italy, with a maximum daily gauge fixed at 20,000 visitors. In Rome, access to the Trevi fountain is also regulated, with no more than 400 people at the same time in front of the monument.

“The place is very small. The idea is to create an ordered line at the entrance and the exit”explained the tourism assistant in Rome last fall, at the microphone of Franceinfo. “We make sure that during the ten minutes that you pass in front of the fountain, you do not receive fifteen elbows. Or that your neighbor from behind does not eat his ice on your shoulder. Make the experience more pleasant.”

Regulate the peaks of attendance, to set up visit quotas … These practices also develop in France. Hiking enthusiasts in Marseille creeks know this: for three years, it has been necessary to reserve its place to access that of Sugiton, whose access is limited to 400 people per day. In the Var, the island of Porquerolles has established attendance quotas for four years each summer. An example followed by the Breton island of Bréhat, in the Côtes-d’Armor.

And then there is this original initiative, in northern Europe. The capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, has chosen to empower and use those who visit the city. The tourist office wants to distinguish those who arrive by train, then travel the city by bicycle rather than in car, help clean the waste or stay more than four days on site. These tourists are rewarded with a bicycle rental, a sports lesson, a concert or a meal at a reduced price. A device implemented from July 15 and until August 11.