A small, picturesque island off the north coast of Brittany has imposed a summer tourist quota in an effort to ensure visitors have a more enjoyable experience and its 400-odd permanent residents do not feel swamped. From this week until 23 August, the number of people allowed on to Ile-de-Bréhat – excluding local people, second homeowners and workers – between 8.30am and 2.
30pm must not exceed 4,700, said the island’s mayor, Olivier Carré. The move to tackle overtourism follows similar steps by cities such as Amsterdam , Paris, Seville and Venice, big tourist draws including Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia and the Acropolis in Athens, and even sites of natural beauty such as the Calanques outside Marseille. All have recently taken measures to regulate or reduce visitor numbers by increasing tourist taxes; introducing entrance fees, time slot systems or advance reservation schemes; or launching information campaigns aimed at curbing overtourism.
“We’re not actually trying to stop people coming – just to make sure they have a better time when they do,” Carré said, adding that the job of policing visitor numbers would be down to the ferry companies providing the 10-minute crossing to Bréhat. He told Agence France-Presse that the restrictions were a repeat of a trial last summer that helped keep day tripper numbers below a critical threshold of 5,500. “Once you reach or pass that level, nothing works – there’s nowhere for people to park at the ferry termina.