Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Cruise ship at a harbor in Rhodes, Greece After a summer of seemingly excessive tourism that made global news via photos of massive crowds of tourists trying to take photos of sunsets concentrated in small, popular islands, the Greek government has announced an array of measures to curb some of the many damaging effects of overtourism. Aiming to reduce the crushing strain from the arrival and trampling of millions of tourists at historic cities, picturesque villages and their communities, the restrictions echo a growing wave of protests against massive tourism spreading in Europe that was particularly felt this summer not only in Greece but at other popular European destinations. A European Concern The reality of overwhelmed destinations reaching their “breaking point,” with residents organizing serious anti-tourist protests, has crossed the limits of the affected countries.
Concerns have been growing among European Union officials over harm to communities, environment and infrastructure caused by the uncontrolled surge of visitors, as well as from the rise in real estate prices pushing out locals and the backlash against tourists brewing in a number of Mediterranean countries, particularly Italy, Spain and Greece. The World Heritage Watch , a non-governmental organisation working with UNESCO to protect sites of international value, notes that the Acropolis in Athens currently lacks visitor-management plans required und.