Travelers have clocked 369 million international trips so far this year, an incredible sum equal to nearly 1.6 million trips per day. Year to date, it’s 21 million more passport stamps than were achieved in early 2016. And some of the most popular destinations simply can’t handle the volume.
Look no further than Venice. As the floating city deals with the threat of rising tides, it’s also being flooded by cruise ships and mass tourism, turning a romantic paradise into a mashup between Disney World and Times Square.
Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Dubrovnik are also feeling the crunch. This year they have all taken steps to curb tourism, seeing it as a burden on locals rather than a bastion of economic opportunity.
“A large part of these overcrowding issues is directly correlated to cruising,” said Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder and chief executive of the travel membership club Indagare. “In Dubrovnik, when there are two cruise ships in port and you have 3,000 extra people in the old city, it’s a vastly different experience. Without cruise ships in town, you can imagine how it was hundreds of years ago, and with them, you can’t see anything at all.”
Other issues relate to poor management at heritage and environmental sites. “Angkor Wat has become the most visited site in Southeast Asia, largely thanks to the way the Chinese middle-class travel market has opened up,” Bradley said. Now locals fear that heavy foot traffic will cause the monument to sink, and proposed solutions include a tightly controlled permit system.
Yet some globetrotters are unfazed by the swarms. To undeterred clients, Bradley recommends off-season visits (think Venice in February). She also suggests flipping the script and doing the Caribbean in summer and Europe in the winter, or looking up cruise itineraries to avoid busy cities when ships are expected in port.
But not all overcrowded destinations are suitable for off-season travel (Machu Picchu in rainy season? No thanks). And some are far from ports. Going elsewhere, for now, may be the best option.
Here, then, are the places cracking down on tourism this year—and alternative destinations for a comparable (but less crowded) trip.
Instead of Venice …
Try Colmar, France. If all you really want is a gondola ride along picturesque canals (and some amazing local cuisine), then swap Venice for the sweet French town of Colmar, which occupies a prime location along the Alsace wine route. Turn any corner, and you’ll feel like an extra in Beauty and the Beast. The half-timbered buildings in every pastel shade, the cobbled alleys free of car traffic, and the covered produce markets are as charming as any in Italy.
Also a good choice: Annecy is an Alpine lake town in southeastern France, where you can cruise around in speedboats or snack on croissants in the waterfront European Gardens.