Overtourism Is Destroying The Magic Of Venice, Barcelona, And Santorini : Here’s How

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

In a world wherever we’re led connected Instagram posts, swept up successful TikTok reels, and escorted done YouTube vlogs to determine wherever we spell and what we see, a fewer of nan world’s favourite municipality centers person fallen unfortunate to their popularity. Cities for illustration Venice, Barcelona, and Santorini — places that utilized to beryllium quiet and charming — person been overrun by tourists, acknowledgment successful immoderate cases to nan activity of influencers and nan sheer unit of societal media. What was erstwhile a tranquil gondola thrust down 1 of Venice’s canals aliases a sojourn to nan architectural wonders of Barcelona has go a conflict done throngs of visitors equipped pinch selfie sticks, pinch each spot seeming to gradually suffer its personality successful nan process.

The rumor of overtourism is not simply a problem for cities wherever nan number of visitors has go excessive. It’s a conundrum for nan travelers arsenic well. They whitethorn person saved for years to person their sensation of Venice’s Piazza San Marco, but past recovered themselves mislaid successful a oversea of selfie sticks and large tourists. It is practically intolerable to admit nan show of Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia successful Barcelona erstwhile it’s ever mobbed pinch visitors and hawkers, and feels little for illustration a humanities monument and much for illustration an amusement park.

Role of societal media influencers successful overcrowding

One of nan main contributors to this overtourism disaster was societal media influencers. These million-follower creators person often played muse to these destinations without critically reasoning astir nan semipermanent repercussions of their suggestions. Social media platforms, propelled by algorithms, person transformed antecedently overlooked spots into tourer hotspots, drafting hordes of visitors, each hoping to replicate nonstop shots they spot connected their screens. But what’s going connected is that nan sanctuaries of authenticity and quiet beauty that we recreation to are getting to beryllium a product.

Nowhere is this much evident than successful nan recreation space. Venice and Santorini were erstwhile among nan astir peaceful, chopped cities. Now they are overrun by wide tourism, owed mostly to nan viral dispersed of societal media content. Travel bloggers and influencers station their experiences successful these picturesque locations, and consequently, they get promoted to nan adjacent level. But erstwhile capable group come, nan luster of these places loses its edge. A paradise for nan weary traveler became a high-pressure, over-commercialized, and undervalued valley.

Travelers Are Losing nan Magic

This alteration isn’t conscionable frustrating for travelers; it’s tragic. What you get alternatively is emotion incredibly hollow erstwhile you person scrimped and saved your cash, booked nan flights, arrived astatine your destination (with precocious expectations), and past recovered yourself successful a crowd. What ought to person been a contemplative infinitesimal astatine a Japanese temple becomes, for a time, a warfare area of visitors vying for conscionable nan correct photo.

We recreation to spot thing we’ve ne'er seen before, to consciousness connected to a civilization aliases a place. But erstwhile quality gridlock obscures nan beauty of these places, nan psyche of nan destination is gone. The spell is broken, and nan traveler’s acquisition is lessened by nan very hype that led them location successful nan first place.

Move to Curated, Trusted Travel Intelligence

With overtourism connected nan rise, there’s a displacement among immoderate creators to measurement backmost from nan algorithms and supply quality, authentic recreation experiences. These creators — galore of whom are bolstered by paid subscribers — are providing a caller exemplary for recreation content. Unlike looking for virality aliases pursuing marque deals, they zero successful connected niche destinations and springiness their subscribers heavy curated, earthy recreation advice.

One specified creator is Yolanda Edwards, whose Substack outlet, Yolo Journal, offers a reprieve from that overtourism cycle. Edwards, pinch hundreds of thousands of die-hard fans, offers heavy recreation narratives that uncover nan hidden, quieter aspects of cities, for illustration an Italian colony wherever each you will perceive is nan sound of waves. Her activity has go a guiding ray for anyone who wants to get disconnected nan beaten way and acquisition nan real, authentic broadside of travel.

Other examples are FOUND, a curated recreation guide, founded by Josh Albertson and Lockhart Steele, pinch newsletters focusing connected destinations for illustration New York, Paris, and London. Their contented transports subscribers to out-of-the-way locations for illustration concealed jazz clubs successful Brooklyn aliases section vino bars successful Paris that are removed from nan tourer traps.

And David Coggins’s The Contender, which provides paid schedules of what to do successful places for illustration a fly-fishing lodge successful Montana aliases a boutique Lisbon hotel, is besides a exemplary for really specialized, targeted proposal tin create a deeper, much purposeful recreation experience. These creators supply a much personal, customized recreation journey, and 1 wherever spot is apical of nan list, alternatively than algorithms.

Future of Travel Content and Curated Experiences

Curated, subscriber-driven contented is starting to upend recreation arsenic we cognize it. The creators of these posts aren’t nan influencers who thrust clickbait contented perpetuating overtourism. They don’t dangle upon algorithms and numbers, and wide engagement. Rather, they create individual relationships pinch their audience, providing existent penetration into little-known destinations that haven’t already been trampled by travelers.

This translator is important because it offers nan anticipation of a much sustainable measurement of traveling. By featuring lesser-known spots, these creators are helping create an moreover distribution of tourism, without nan unit to debar swarming 1 destination. They besides guarantee much genuine, richer experiences for their subscribers that aren’t diminished done overcrowding.

Embracing a New Way to Travel

For those of america who emotion to travel, this alteration presents an breathtaking opportunity. If you want retired of nan overtourism trap, it’s clip to commencement investing successful nan activity of these replacement creators. So, hide nan free crap and see paying for insights from group who are earnestly committed to redeeming nan psyche of travel. These creators are providing america nan opportunity to spot nan world arsenic it was meant to be: real, peaceful, and private.