Too Much Tourism? The Future of Travel’s Top Spots

I like a good summer waterfight as much as the next kid, but there has to be a better way to respond to the pressures of overtourism than turning waterguns on tourists, right? 

“Overtourism” has been making headlines for several summers in a row, particularly in peak season as popular destinations and attractions grapple with the increased demand for “must-see” cultural monuments in Europe’s top cities, and tour operators grapple with increasing challenges in accessing attraction tickets for their guests. So what can we do about it?

For the latest Arival report, Beyond Capacity: Managing Demand at Europe’s Top Attractions — developed in partnership with Destination Wayfinder — we combined Arival consumer research on the experiences traveler with an analysis of online guest review counts of tours, activities and attractions across Europe, in order to explore this question.

Here’s what we found.

Attractions are the Epicenter of Tourism

Our analysis put numbers to what we all know to be true: far too many people want to go to far too few places. The top 50 markets across Europe account for nearly half of all reviews on Tripadvisor. 

This concentration of demand is even more dramatic at Europe’s top destinations: the top

five operators by review counts in Paris — Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de

Paris, Arc de Triomphe and Musée d’Orsay — account for 44% of all Things to Do reviews on Tripadvisor. In other words, some 0.1% of all operators account for nearly half of all reviews.

Travelers Aren’t Going to Help

Travelers may say they want to “go off the beaten track” and “make more sustainable travel choices,” but when it comes down to it, their actions don’t match their intentions. 

Arival’s 2025 reports on the U.S. and European experiences traveler revealed a disconnect between what travelers say is important to them, and what they actually do: the same travelers who said getting off the beaten track and making sustainable travel choices were of utmost importance also said they visited an attraction because it was famous, was conveniently located, and they “had always wanted to visit it.” 

So What Can We Do About It?

Download the full report Beyond Capacity: Managing Demand at Europe’s Top Attractions from Arival and Destination Wayfinder today for more insights, case studies and a practical list of steps visitor attractions, tour operators, destination management organizations and government agencies can take to tackle the growing challenges of increased demand. The report is available at no cost — simply sign up or log in as an Insider Free member.

Also, join us at an upcoming Arival event to learn from industry leading experts on the latest challenges and opportunities in tours, activities and attractions. We’ll discuss the future of travel experiences, the challenges of managing increased demand at top attractions, and dig into insights from the latest consumer and industry research.