Have you encountered “overtourism”? How should popular destinations deal with it?
Places like Venice, Barcelona or Dubrovnik – as well as destinations in the Swiss Alps – are struggling with an influx of tourists. Approaches to deal with it range from limiting access for large tour groups to selling access tickets.
Have you ever encountered the effects of “over-tourism” in your travels? What was it like, and what measures do you think could be taken to address the issue?
Read more in these stories:
Swiss village of Lauterbrunnen mulls Venice-style tourist entry charge
Overtourism has become a reality in Switzerland too, but it’s confined to a handful of places. Part of the blame, which no one seems to mention, is the bundling and promotion of passes by Swiss railway companies - especially the Jungfrau Railways in the case of Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and other villages/resorts in the Bernese Alps. Overseas visitors largely travel by train and most often buy rail passes which highlight the most expensive mountain excursions that funnel them through - you guessed it - Lauterbrunnen.
Tourism that allows small groups or individuals to experience a place is acceptable but it becomes a problem when large groups and coach loads of tourists block up streets, overwhelm cafes and restaurants and generally swamp small towns. I have experienced situations where large groups of Chinese tourists have booked almost the entire train to Interlaken leaving no space for domestic tourists or locals. This swamping to resources should not be allowed and your sizes should be restricted in order to allow more organic tourism rather than mass tourism.
I worked for a Swiss firm in Bern 1983-85. There was no crowding in the city at that time.
We visited Switzerland as tourist in 2016 and 2018. Visited friends staying in Bern, Zurich, Lucerne and hiked local trails away from the cities during the weekdays. I agree with Wild1, KZA and vngzlinv about the impact of tourists.
Hiking on Jacob's Way was of course uncrowded. Knowing some German helped going from Schwarzenberg to Fribourg.
Hiking from the lift stop above Grindelwald down a trail to Lauterbrunnen there was a Large group of Asian tourists w a guide carrying a group # sign. Once on the lesser used trails down the hills our two Swiss friends and us were alone. We would definitely return to Switzerland and hike the more remote trails.
Tourism is a means of livelihood for many people.
I agree that sometimes it can be a nuisance for the locals, but both tourists and locals need to be tolerant, and respect each other’s privacy.
I myself live in Lauterbrunnen. For me personally, it is absolutely no longer acceptable to allow such tourists to visit us. I am an absolutely tolerant person, but when I encounter such disrespectful characters all day long, I lose my patience. I will no longer tolerate such masses of people who are here without decency and respect. I see myself forced to move far away from here one day. Everyone says "It's quiet back there" but this is exactly the opposite! I'm sorry for my language, but when tourists literally "poo" in our garden, the fun is clearly over. I've had enough and every day I become more and more unfriendly to these strangers.
Now something has to change otherwise this will one day be nothing more than a sad way of making money.
Ich selber wohne in Lauterbrunnen. Für mich persönlich ist es absolut nicht mehr tragbar solche Touristen zu uns zu lassen. Ich bin ein absolut toleranter Mensch aber bei solchen respektlosen Gestalten, welche einem den ganzen Tag begegnen, fehlt dann auch mir der Geduldsfaden. Solche Massen an Menschen, die ohne Anstand und Respekt hier sind, werden durch mich nicht mehr toleriert. Ich sehe mich gezwungen eines Tages von hier weit weg zu ziehen. Jeder sagt „Dort hinten hat man seine Ruhe“ doch dies ist genau das Gegenteil! Tut mir leid für meine Ausdrucksweise aber wenn Touristen uns regelrecht in den Garten „Kacken“ dann ist der Spass doch eindeutig vorbei. Es reicht mir und ich werde mit jedem Tag unfreundlicher zu diesen Fremden.
Nun muss sich etwas verändern sonst wird dies einmal nichts anderes sein als eine traurige Art und Weise Geld zu machen.
overtourism not so bad but rules needed
other countries- locals & tourists behave badly in nature , around water & snow & mountains. they can be psycho gangsters who violate into the spirit & atoms & energies & push boundaries. there is no place with water police . maybe some swamis do this who specialise in OM. but every time some violation or pollution occurs , the entire lake or dam has to be magiced away & no-one ever thanks them for all this. eventually the water & natures will be disformed & people born disformed. must have patrols & rules who can swim where & not. am shocked that in other countries where this occurs- the authorities encourage it worse & worse. similarly this new attitude means no-one can die in peace any more etc. it is not allowed to gate crash heaven or anything like that. what about animals brains ?
Switzerland has been a favorite destination since we lived here 35 years ago. We are living here for 3 months this year 2024. We travel almost everyday to a different part of Switzerland not leaving the country. We have friends coming to visit us during this time a total of 6 family groups over the 3 months. We were so excited to take them to Lauterbrunnen to see the falls. I almost cried when we got there. It felt like a crowded amusement park. Too many cars, tour buses (should not be allowed ). I think making appointment times to come to see them would be the best idea. 5.00 dollar charge is not enough. Don’t allow cars in the small town. Unless people live there. Have an app and make an appointment time and maybe a small charge along with that but a combo of both. Just like the Lindt chocolate factory. No appointment time you can not go. Also maybe limit the hours so the people who live there can have some quiet time. Allow access by public transportaion only. These are a lot of random ideas but something needs to be done. The trash is a problem. I’m sure you have people in the tourism industry that have degrees in Crowd control or logistics. Good luck. Thanks for taking an interest in this problem
The best way to combat overtourism in the Alps is to make places physically harder to visit. In my experience most people are very lazy and unwilling to take public transport or walk more than 10 min from a car park. Eliminate private car access (and parking spaces) from over-popular spots and very quickly you will solve the problem.
I am too stupied to understand the word "overtourism"
Tourism is increasingly a crime against the environment. Chinese especially will pay whatever it takes to see beauty after the devastation of their land; India is not far behind. Who can blame them? And city dwellers everywhere want country experience, the cuter, the better. Swiss Cute is international but endangered. At the least, daily quotas are necessary.
David Heinimann
circa Bennwil BL
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Totally support the imposition of a visiting fee for people arriving in group tour or on tour bus. CHF10.00 each is much too low, make it CHF100.00 because these tourists don't spend anything in the town, the use the toilets, cost money to clean up after, pollute the peace, and disturb the enjoyment of others. And impose a time limit of 1 hour in the town. The coaches must leave after 1 hour. For every overstay of 30 mins, another CHF100 fine on the coach. I just returned from Venice, it was less crowded and very clean. Police presence was good.
100% agree. 5 or 10 eur won't make any difference, people won't feel that. But 100? That will make quite a few ppl think twice. And 100% ban big group tours completely.
It is obvious that it is a question of excess profits. Even the priest of Lauterbrunnen agrees with the many receipts of money. Look, I think you, the local people in Lauterbrunnen should be grateful to have such type of nature on one side, which you exploit to live in a super regulated business environment away from the city. On the other side, you should be grateful that your grandparents have worked extremely hard and exhaustingly to have today a "product" to which countless people flock from all over the world, and you local and disaffected people from these grateful conditions/zone have good enough living conditions called "standard of living" . A third important condition is that no one (including ME as your regular visitor and a client (restaurants, lifts/bergbahnen , shops and etc) doesn't steal from you, doesn't take away anything from "your environment". We all visit you, comply with the rules, leave our money and leave. Why should you get richer (one-day visit fee) when you don't want all these tourists (including me)?
You are not at all aware of what you want! Reading the interview, it is noticeable that you can't even decide how to act. A kind of "selection" of the type of tourists (which speaks of gluttony and disrespect in its purest form), by collecting an entrance fee and of course disrespecting us day-trippers tourists.
It would be good for the Swiss nation to experience a very serious economic decline associated with a drastic financial crisis, in order to be able to take a moral look at things in life, from the other side, and all this influx of tourists with an interest in your country and nature to come to my homeland Bulgaria, where WE, the Bulgarian nation, will warmly welcome everyone who came to experience the wonderful feeling from Bulgaria and our culture not based on wild capitalism like yours in Lauterbrunnen! For the process I requested in the last lines, the indications are already available/visible...
Sincerely, Penchev Georgi, who has spent enough time and financial resources in the last more than 20 years to visit all 26 cantons, numerous attractions, towns, villages, nature sites in Confederation Switzerland , and even to work in the Canton of Graubünden some time ago.
🇨🇭👎
Here in the "American Alps," otherwise known as the North Cascades, or mistakenly as North Cascades National Park, we also suffer from over-tourism. What we lack is Roger to persuade tourists to visit us in midweek or shoulder seasons. Switzerland is lucky to have Roger, because celebrity is the best way to reach beyond the choir. I've visited Switzerland and Norway in the shoulder seasons, and been guided in my travels by my Swiss wife and former Norwegian employers, but before Roger and the almost as famous Scandinavian skiers. I had wonderful visits in both countries, and I'm confident that Roger is guiding tourists constructively in Switzerland. Give Roger more freedom to follow his instincts, and I'm sure you'll do well. We're experimenting, and so far almost succeeding, with the "trails resort" concept, guarding the sunny eastern entry to North Cascades National Park. We probably just need someone like Roger.
The volume of tourists in popular (instsgrammable) hiking paths is certainly growing, and that volume does affect the wildlife, the flora and fauna and the enjoy ability of some of these places. I hike the Brienzergrat to Hardergrat ridge in whole or in part depending n the season quite regularly. In the last three years I have encountered problems that are related to illegal activity up there. The entire ridge is a federally protected area for wildlife. It is quite well documented online and in local signage that camping, bivouacking, drone flying and dogs off their lines are not allowed in the protected area. But I encounter all these activities everytime I am on the ridge. At first I attributed these illegal activities to tourists, and while some are, I see more and more Swiss people ignoring the rules. I see Swiss Families with a dog barking at Steinbock without its line. I see Swiss couples camping stupidly on the peaks. Drone flyers of every nationality but primarily Swiss are regularly up there. I try to point out the rules but most ignore me as I am just another hiker. If Swiss people cannot follow the rules and behave considerately, how can we expect tourists to do so? Swiss Rangers and the Game Warden are forced to patrol the ridge late at night in the summer season, fining campers and removing them from the mountain (mostly Augstmatthorn). But many of these people are local. They either don’t care about the rules or believe rules don’t apply to them. This sets a bad example and we all
Must behave as we expect tourists to do so.
I agree when Venice or Amsterdam prohibit cruise ships from docking in their ports for a single day, just as some cities in my state, São Paulo, in Brazil, prohibit tourist buses, which we call "round trips". This mass tourism, in my opinion, degrades the region more than it helps tourism...
Just like the American national parks, which have also reduced or decreased the number of tourists, in order to preserve the forest and the animals that live in these parks... and that is the function of these parks... in my opinion, unfortunately, humanity has already far exceeded the capacity of the environment to regenerate... And we have to accept living with less and not the other way around...nothing is infinite.../ Forever...
Eu concordo quando Veneza ou Amsterdam proibem navios de cruzeiros atracarem nos portos para ficarem somente dia , assim como , algumas cidades daqui do meu estado , São Paulo , no Brasil , que proibem onibus de turismo que chamamos de "" bate e volta"" , esse turismo massivo , ao meu ver mais degrada a regiao do que ajuda turisticamente falando ...
Assim como os parques nacionais americanos que tambem reduziram ou diminuíram a quantidade de turistas , para preservarem a mata e animais , que vivem nesses parques ...e essa é a função desses parques...ao meu ver infelizmente a humanidade já ultrapassou em.muito a capacidade de regeneração do meio ambiente ... E Temos que aceitar conviver com menos e nao ao contrário...nada é infinito./ Para sempre...
Bali shows many signs of overtourism. Clever people come over to 'my place' in Lombok. Just came back from the beach. I was the only one swimming.... very relaxing...
I visited Interlaken with my family in June 2022 and did not have the opportunity to see masses of tourists or waves invading such a beautiful place.
I enjoyed it intensely and was struck by how uncrowded it was.
Evidently I was very lucky, our hotel was very well attended without excess of tourists and the successive places that we visited in our vacation journey did not call my attention for the excess of tourists, but they called my attention for their beauty, tranquility and simple organization.
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Visite con mi familia Interlaken en junio de 2022 y no tuve oportunidad de ver masas de turistas ni ordas invadiendo tan bello lugar.
Lo disfruté intensamente y me llamó la atención observar cuán poco concurrido estaba.
Evidentemente tuve mucha suerte.Nuestro hotel estaba muy bien atendido sin exceso de turistas y los sucesivos lugares que visitamos en nuestro trayecto vacacional no me llamaron la atención por el exceso de turistas.Si llamaron mi atención por su belleza ,,tranquilidad y sencilla organizacion
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My wife and I have been visiting the Jungfrau area of Switzerland for over 20 years in summer and winter. We like to stay in Grindelwald or Wengen and usually book for two weeks.
Over the years we have seen a large increase in tour groups from the "Far East" who only seem to spend one day in the area before moving on to be replaced by other tour groups. The problem with large groups is that they all want to be in the same place at the same time and as a result the popular areas, trains, cable cars and boats get crowded. Increasing the capacity and speed of cable cars simply puts more people up the mountains and I am sure it will affect the ski season. More skiers on the slopes at the same time will spoil the experience and could result in many accidents.
This summer the trains were overcrowded - standing room only - and running late as it took longer for the crowds to get on and off. We were based in Wilderwil and had to stand in crowded carriages many times on the way to and from Grindelwald Terminal.
We still love the area but the tour groups are taking the shine of it.
I live in Lauterbrunnen. The excuse that putting a barrier up is not feasible is nonsense. There are options but no political will. There is zero proactive policing of the area so tourists do pretty much whatever they want and it is OK. Equip and fund the local police to get serious. Fine drivers who drive up the street whilst videoing the valley with their phone. Fine people using drones and confiscate and destroy the equipment. So many solutions but the real problem is the lack of political will. Weak, pathetic leadership is the real issue.
Day tourists should be limited. Guided tours should also include local conditions regarding environmental sustainability of tourism, local products, but also protection of the quality of life of the local population.
Tagestouristen sollten limitiert werden. Führungen sollten auch auf die örtlichen Gegebenheiten bezüglich Umweltverträglichkeit des Tourismus, einheimische Produkte, aber auch Schutz der Lebensqualität der einheimischen Bevölkerung beinhalten.
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