Tagged: overtourism

How to Avoid Traffic at Yosemite National Park's Entrances

After years of keeping traffic and crowds under control, California's Yosemite National Park has once again become a nightmare to visit, and federal mismanagement is clearly to…

The Tourist Tax Is Becoming the Norm in Japan (and Other Places)

Bimyō (微妙) is an essential concept in Japanese culture. An embrace of ambiguity, of subtlety, of nuance, the word explains everyday conversations where nobody says exactly what they…

Rome's Trevi Fountain Now Requires a Ticket and Entrance Fee

As of February 2026, tourists who want to get close to Rome's Trevi Fountain—of La Dolce Vita, coin-tossing, and nightmarish overcrowding fame—will need to buy a ticket. Rome's mayor,…

Warning: Priority Pass Airport Lounge Access via Credit Cards Is Increasingly Futile

Access at more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide is granted through the Priority Pass program for people with some of the most popular credit cards in travel. Those cards include…

Where Is the Sunniest City in Europe? Researchers Find the Best Weather

Eight of the 10 sunniest cities in Europe are all in one country, according to research.Using data from World Weather Online, vacation rental platform Holidu calculated the average…

Mona Lisa Getting a Room of Her Own in Major Louvre Overhaul

Big changes are coming to the Louvre museum in Paris. Chief among them: The Mona Lisa will get her own room. Leonardo da Vinci’s famed Italian Renaissance painting, known as La Joconde…

How to Find Out if a Cruise Port Will Be Crowded When You're There

Cruise ships keep getting bigger and bigger, but the delicate historic sights of Europe and the Caribbean remain the same size. When locals complain about overtourism, cruise ships are…

New United Flights to Greenland, Mongolia, Bilbao, and Beyond

We may look back at 2024 as the year when overtourism reached a breaking point. In many of the world's most visitor-clogged destinations, local governments enacted new restrictions and…

A Cinque Terre Trail Famed for Romance Reopens After More Than a Decade

After a long dry spell, the Path of Love is reopening. We're not trying to be poetic here. The actual walkway known as the Path of Love—or Via dell'Amore in Italian—is finally…

Venice, Italy, Says the Entry Fee for Day Trippers Will Be Doubled

Update: November 8, 2024: There has been an update to this story. Click here to read it. The trial period for the controversial new entry fee for Venice Italy, is complete for 2024.For…

Tourists Welcome! Uncrowded Travel Destinations in Spain

“Tourists go home.”Those words, daubed on walls and reproduced in countless news stories in recent years, make uncomfortable reading for anyone thinking of visiting Spain. The…

A Weak Yen Is Making Japan Vacations Cheaper Than They’ve Been in 30 Years

The U.S. dollar soared this week to its highest rate against Japan's yen since 1990. As of Friday, 1 dollar equates to around 157 yen, according to Reuters—the dollar's strongest…

Avoid Cruise Ship Port Crowds By Using These Websites and Strategies

Now you see them, now you don’t. Like flash mobs, cruise crowds can seemingly pop out of nowhere, flooding down gangplanks and transforming serene port towns or nature areas into ones…

Bar Harbor, Maine, Votes to Limit Cruise Passengers, Setting Stage for a Fight

Amid all the U.S. election news earlier this month, you might have missed a development that could have a significant impact on travelers. Voters in the picturesque town of Bar…

Venice Really Is Finally Adding an Entry Fee—Here’s How It Will Work

UPDATE, May 31: Officials in Venice have reportedly decided to postpone the implementation of the city's entry fee for day-trippers described below. Though the program's trial run was…

Famous Thai Beach from Leonardo DiCaprio Movie Reopening After Three Years

Thailand's Maya Bay, the speck of paradise that played the title role in the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach (2000), is reopening to tourists after a three-year-long…

Italy's Venice Plans to Charge An Entry Fee and Cap Visitors

Of the world's premier travel destinations, Venice may be the one most transformed by this pandemic. The Italian cabinet banned cruise ships in July, sparking headlines worldwide.…

Why Key West's Ban on Big Ships Will Change Caribbean Cruises

Once a quiet fishing village and quirky haven for writers, artists, and free spirits, the Florida Straits city of Key West veered toward tourist-trap territory starting in the…

Better Buy a Watch: Your Travel Future Will Be Timed

Travel is still shut down, but the coronavirus has already changed it. New social distancing measures have forced attractions around the world to look at entrance procedures anew.…

Rome Bans Souvenir Stands Next to Iconic Sites

Tourists in the market for a Pope Francis bobblehead may have a tougher time finding that souvenir on the streets of Rome this year. The city has banned stalls selling mugs, magnets,…

Staying in Amsterdam Will Cost You Extra This Year

An increase in Amsterdam's tourist tax went into effect on January 1. Going forward, visitors who stay in hotels in the Dutch capital will be charged a fee of €3 (US $3.35) per person…

Where to Escape Crowds in Overtouristed Venice, Italy

Venice may be nicknamed La Serenissima, but it’s anything except serene in summer, when the historic center’s population can triple in size. Tourist numbers to the lagoon city have…

Famous Thai Beach to Remain Closed Two More Years—at Least

Thailand's Maya Bay, which played the titular locale in the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach, is currently closed to tourists and will remain that way until at least…

Thanks a Lot, Instagram. Horseshoe Bend Now Has an Entry Fee

Many of the world's most beautiful places have become victims of their own Instagrammability, with hordes of selfie snappers causing congestion, safety concerns, and strains on…

Amsterdam Bans Tours of Red-Light District

As much as it's known for picturesque canals and paintings by Dutch masters on display at the Rijksmuseum and elsewhere, Amsterdam has also gained a reputation as a haven for legal…