The summer that tourism fell apart
After a summer of protests in some of Europe's most popular tourist destinations, what might your summer vacation look like in 2025 - and beyond?
The message was clear this year: travel is back. But while European tourism reached new heights in 2024, not everyone was happy about it. In April, tens of thousands of people gathered in the Canary Islands to protest the negative impacts of mass tourism, and other anti-tourism rallies took place across Europe this summer.
Key takeaways
- Unless something significant changes, a repeat of this summer's problems is likely to continue next year. Spanish tourism alone is expected to grow by 5% in 2025, with more than 90 million visits from overseas tourists; while France is expected to remain the most visited country in the world in 2025;
- One way that cities and countries are regulating numbers is through tourism taxes, and travelers will see more and more of them if this summer's pilot projects are anything to go by;
- Accommodation choices are also narrowing for vacationers. Locals in vacation hotspots have been vocal about their feelings about the short-term rental industry, which they say is negatively impacting the housing market and housing supply overall.
Get the full story at the BBC