Europe’s tourist invasion: Unbearable crowds descend on holiday hotspots as experts warn countries can’t cope with mass influx

Europe’s beloved landmarks have been swamped by tourists, with crowds blighting several iconic monuments in the rush for summer getaways.  

With 100million tourists expected to head to Spain this summer alone, Europe has already seen a five per cent rise in international tourist arrivals to the continent in 2026, compared to this time the year before, according to the European Travel Commission (ETC).

Travel experts have told the Daily Mail that the tourism industry is ‘hitting max capacity earlier and earlier’ and that certain countries are not necessarily ‘coping rather well’, with viral videos on social media reinforcing these observations.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors have descended on the Acropolis in Athens, the Trevi fountain in Rome and the Vatican in their busiest seasons – among other famous sites – while Europe is gripped by yet another heatwave. 

Kevin Schreck, a travel adviser and tour guide based in Valencia, told the Daily Mail: ‘in this area of the Mediterranean, tourism has been going up consistently for the past three years, and we’ve been hitting max capacity earlier and earlier.’ 

He added that ‘we’ve definitely seen a big influx compared to the last few years’ and ‘even now, despite the heatwaves and anti-tourist protests in the area, it continues to rise’. 

‘From my perspective, it’s starting to become rather unsustainable. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Spain is coping rather well, even if the numbers look positive from one angle,’ he continued.

Nero Line, a luxury rental provider based in Spain, similarly told the Mail that ‘the ground-level picture matches the headline numbers: peak weeks have been filling earlier and with less room to move than previous seasons’.

‘Spain is on course for 100million international arrivals this year, the strongest summer in its modern tourism history,’ the rental provider said. 

It argued that a ‘meaningful share of that uplift’ has come from holidaymakers who would have typically chosen to vacation in places like Turkey, Cyprus or Egypt, but chose instead to stay in western and central Europe to avoid the conflict in the Middle East. 

While he added that ‘the industry is broadly doing well’, there is pressure on ‘infrastructure and the communities in the busiest spots’.

The OECD’s report on Tourism Trends and Policies released last month admitted that ‘concentrated visitor flows are placing pressure on infrastructure and communities in some destinations’. 

‘The absence of robust infrastructure can hinder the delivery of quality experiences… and place strain on existing resources that may not be equipped to handle increased demand,’ it wrote.

Extreme overcrowding has been a popular topic for social media users in recent weeks when taking in the sights of central Europe – and comes only days after even supposedly untouched gems like Tre Cime in the Dolomites saw hordes of visitors queuing for coaches.

Videos from inside packed trains heading towards Lake Como in northern Italy – which is bracing itself for its fourth heatwave this summer peaking at 41C (106F) this weekend – revealed carriages rammed with passengers forced to stand in the gangway, pressed against each other.  

Extensive queues of hundreds of tourists waiting to board ferries have also circulated on social media, making up some of the 1.4million visitors who travel to the luxury resort towns along the shore every year.

Jam-packed streets similarly crowded around the Trevi fountain, which is often a popular tourist spot in the Italian capital, but one visitor argued that ‘the Rome crowds really are no joke, especially in the summer heat’. 

They shared a video of the ‘reality’ of Rome with swarms of tourists shoving each other for a picture of the Trevi fountain, which was humorously compared to the ‘Instagram’ version of the trip to Italy made up of charming walks by the Colosseum. 

Several other dissatisfied visitors concurred, with one writing ‘plus the GARBAGE EVERYWHERE! I’ve never seen so many cigarette butts on the ground!’

‘Nobody prepared me for the walks,’ another joked, in reference to the many walking tours that take place in the city – often stopping by the 18th-century masterpiece designed by Nicola Salvi. 

In a recent bid to mitigate the overwhelming crowds, a €2 (£1.70) fee was introduced in February for tourists to access the close-up viewing basin of the iconic fountain between the hours of 9am-10pm.

But despite these efforts, visitors were still coming away displeased, with one person claiming that ‘the Rome crowds are not for the weak’ and they ‘almost died’ while trying to make their way through them.

Ginormous queues snaked around the Vatican on Sunday as well while the beating sun shone down, as many culture vultures tried to enter the Vatican Museums using the scheme allowing free entry on the last Sunday of the month.

With 6.8million visitors every year – and up to 30,000 people every day during the summer months – the Vatican Museums are one of the most popular art spots in the world.

In a hopeful bid to beat similar crowds in Athens, one holidaymaker toured the Acropolis at 8am but her video revealed the masses of slow-paced groups shuffling through the ancient citadel.

One similarly disgruntled visitor commented that ‘at 12 you can’t literally move, you’re stuck’ while another responded by saying ‘trust me it’s still better than when it gets to 9 and you cannot see the floor for people’. 

However, holidaymakers in Greece may face disruption ahead of visiting popular sites as local authorities have implemented a work ban from 1pm to 5pm due to the excruciating heat.

The country’s Labour and Social Security Ministry told employers last week they could not force outdoor labourers to work during those hours in several regions, including its capital, due to health concerns over regular temperature spikes of above 40C (104F). 

The crowding was a similar situation on Greece’s beaches, with herds of sunseekers packed onto beaches like Italida on the pristine island group of Koufonisia and local reports highlighting concern for locals about overtourism.

Around 20 beaches in Italy have already established limits to the number of people who can enjoy them in a bid to tackle the masses of visitors who flock to the country each summer – with some reservations sold out until September.

A swimming spot in Malta, recently popularised by videos on TikTok, has also seen large crowds attend.

St Peter’s Pool, a natural swimming pool where thrillseekers jump from the limestone cliffs on the southern coast of Malta, appears to have been confronted with overcrowding.

Once considered one of Europe’s best kept secrets, a recent video showed dozens of holidaymakers swimming in the water while several large groups hung around the lip of the basin, queuing to jump into the crystal-clear water.

In other recent videos, masses of rubbish, like cigarette butts and food wrappers – could be seen left behind by visitors and the narrow pathway leading down to the idyllic cove was near impossible to walk through thanks to the many sunseekers flocking to the picturesque bay.

However, the ETA noted that other typical holiday hotspots like Cyprus and Turkey have seen a fall in visitors this summer (17.9 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively), partly due to international concerns over the proximity to the conflict in the Middle East. 

The EU Council acknowledged earlier this year that there was ‘unbalanced tourism’ in the continent, with Spain, Germany, France and Italy accounting for more than 60per cent of overnight stays every year.

This ‘overtourism’ in some areas, exacerbated by the ‘geographical and seasonal concentration of tourist flows’, creates a ‘real challenge for the tourism industry’.

Across southern Europe, concerns about overtourism have sparked protests in recent years as frustrated locals complain that millions of visitors are driving up housing costs, overcrowding public spaces and placing increasing pressure on transport and public services.

Demonstrations have taken place in tourist hotspots including Barcelona, Mallorca and Venice, with the OECD’s report acknowledging that there was ‘growing push back from local residents’.

Earlier this week armed riot police clashed with some of the 25,000 protesters in Palma, Mallorca, who were demonstrating against the holidaymakers who flock to the island over the summer.

Demonstrators held signs with slogans including ‘tourists go home’, ‘tourism = destruction’, ‘save Majorca’ and ‘less tourism, more life’. 

It is the third summer in a row that mass protests have been seen on the island.