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TOURISM

Do certain parts of Austria simply have too many tourists now?

With famous Austrian Alpine places like Salzburg and the tiny village of Hallstatt contemplating measures to deter certain tourists is the country suffering from too many visitors?

Published: 29 August 2023 16:12 CEST
Updated: 2 September 2023 05:59 CEST
Do certain parts of Austria simply have too many tourists now?
View of the Hallstatt village, a World Heritage-listed town on Lake Hallstatt's western shore in Austria. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Tourism accounts for a full eight percent of Austria’s annual GDP, according to the national tourist office. That makes the sector one of the fastest growing and largest parts of the Alpine country’s economy.

The industry – hard-hit by Covid-19 – has seen a strong rebound. In 2022, Austria recorded almost 137 million hotel stays – up almost 40 million over 2021.

But not everyone is welcoming the new and returning visitors.

The tiny village of Hallstatt, a hamlet just 750 people strong not far from Salzburg and bearing a striking resemblance to the fictional kingdom of Arendelle from Disney’s Frozen – recently erected a fence at its famous vista to deter selfie-seekers.

After a social media backlash, the village – which is also a UNESCO heritage site – removed the fence, but signs remind visitors to enjoy the site quietly.

READ ALSO: Austria’s Hallstatt erects barriers to curb selfie-hunters

And now some residents are protesting in favour of tourism curbs in the village – which gets as many as 10,000 visitors a day in high season. Residents want to limit these numbers, and to ban tour buses in the town after 5:00 pm.

While Hallstatt’s one million annual visitors have certainly stimulated the town’s economy, residents say they regularly reach the city’s limit of 450 cars and 54 buses – and that there’s simply too many tourists.

An unobstructed view of the beautiful village of Hallstatt in Austria. (Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash)

‘We only want those who stay overnight.’

Close by in Salzburg, the city’s tourism head says their strategy will shift from ‘tourism marketing’ to ‘tourism management,’ arguing that the city is in danger of being overrun by ‘mass tourists’ and daytrippers – who do little for the city’s economy but clog its infrastructure and roads, especially as two-thirds of daytrippers arrive in the city in their own cars.

‘We only want those who stay overnight,’ Salzburg tourism boss Christine Schönhuber said bluntly.

City leaders – currently a ÖVP-SPÖ coalition – haven’t said they plan to do anything definitive to deter certain tourists, but that any measures they take will limit the effects daytrippers have on the city – and even discourage them from coming altogether – unless they plan to stay the night.

A street in central Salzburg.

A street in central Salzburg. City leaders are particularly concerned about the number of day trippers the city sees, preferring overnight guests. Photo: zhang xiaoyu on Unsplash

To this end, the coalition is considering closing the bus terminal at the city’s Mirabellplatz to daytripping companies – allowing only those transporting overnight guests.

It’s also considering restrictions in souvenir shops – in an effort to discourage ‘low quality’ tourism in favour of ‘high quality tourism.’ Such restrictions already exist in other European cities, like Amsterdam and Dubrovnik.

Even on overnight stays, Salzburg is setting records. July 2023 saw the city’s busiest July ever – with a record 3.68 million hotel stays in the state as a whole.

READ ALSO: Salzburg looks to limit daytrippers in new tourism concept

Airbnb and second home rules

Is Austria a victim of its own tourism success and reputation for beauty?

As a country that’s long been popular with both tourists and second home owners, Austria is no stranger to debates around reconciling its popularity among international visitors with people who call the country home.

Vienna recently announced further tightening of its rules around Airbnb, saying that it’s looking to preserve the housing market for locals.

READ ALSO: Vienna tightens rules for Airbnb rentals

Meanwhile, restrictions have long been in place in Salzburg, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg – some of the country’s most popular tourist destinations – on foreigners owning homes, second or otherwise.

READ ALSO: Property buying rules for foreigners in Tyrol and Vorarlberg

Although it may seem unfriendly to some, and counterintuitive given the amount of money tourism brings into Austria – the country already has a long tradition of weighing the effects that its visitors have on its locals – one that seems unlikely to change soon.

What are your thoughts on overtourism in Austria? Share your views and experiences in the comments section below.

Member comments

  1. I’ve been to Hallstatt many times. We’ve never stayed the night there. Too hard to find a place. We usually stay in Obertraun. Cheaper and better access to Dachstein. I’m not sure these hamlets would have any economy without tourists.

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TOURISM

Stay away! How Europe’s most popular spots are fighting overtourism

Tourist hotspots around Europe are on a crusade to deal with surging visitor numbers. Is it the end of mass tourism in Europe?

Published: 25 April 2024 12:59 CEST
Stay away! How Europe's most popular spots are fighting overtourism

On Thursday April 25th Venice introduced a new €5 tourist charge for day-trippers as the city battles against mass tourism. But it’s not the only part of Europe that appears to have had enough of tourists.

Cities, towns, picturesque villages, national parks and World Heritage sites across Europe are taking measures to prevent overtourism.

Those moves are not without controversy.

Barcelona

Nestled on the coast of the Mediterranean, Barcelona is the capital of the Catalonia region, home to famed Gaudi architectural gems and one of Spain’s top football clubs.

Ada Colau, the leftist former housing rights activist who was mayor of the city between 2015 and June 2023, cracked down on illegal Airbnb rentals that were accused of pricing locals out of the property market.

The city also limited the entrance of tour groups in the historic La Boquería market, especially during peak shopping times.

And throughout the centre organised groups must be limited to a maximum of 20 people and guides are not allowed to use loudspeakers.

Tourist walk up and down Las Ramblas alley in Barcelona on April 13, 2024. – From the Balearic Islands to the Canary Islands, Barcelona and Malaga, anti-mass tourism movements are multiplying in Spain. (Photo by PAU BARRENA / AFP)

In 2023 tourist numbers registering in hotels, homes and hostels were down 6.9 percent compared with 2019 figures, according to the City Council.

However, Barcelona hasn’t completely rid itself of the problems caused by mass tourism, nor have other popular spots in Spain such as Málaga and the Canary Islands, where the spike in Airbnb-style holiday lets causing a rental crisis and other consequences of overtourism have angered locals. 

READ ALSO:

Venice

In Venice, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, 3.2 million visitors stayed overnight in the historic centre in 2022 — dwarfing the resident population of just 50,000.

On Thursday April 25th, it started charging day trippers for entry. Day visitors will have to buy a €5 ticket, monitored by inspectors carrying out spot checks at key points across the UNESCO world heritage site.

ourists take selfies with the Grand Canal

Venice begins on April 25, charging day trippers for entry, a world first aimed at easing pressure on the Italian city drowning under the weight of mass tourism. Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP

In 2021, it banned huge cruise ships from Venice lagoon over concerns about the environmental impact of the huge liners on the city.

Venice has also introduced a tax for overnight visitors.

Sites in France

France too is worried about over-tourism – or rather that fact that so many of the country’s millions of tourists per year visit just a few sites – Paris, Mont-Saint-Michel and the Calanques national park near Marseille.

A publicity campaign has been urging visitors to consider heading to other sites, or to visit out of the high season – this winter the Paris Metro was plastered with posters urging people to visit Mon-Saint-Michel in the winter, when it is less crowded.

his long exposure picture tourists walking in the crowded main street of Le Mont-Saint-Michel, northwestern France, on July 25, 2023. Photo by Damien MEYER / AFP

There are more pro-active measures too, with several sites introducing a cap on visitor numbers. The Calanques, the islands of Bréhat and Porquerolles and several sites on the island of Corsica have all introduced annual quotes for tourists during the summer season, and all visits must now be booked in advance.

Other sites don’t have a formal quota but some are only open to pre-booked visitors, while for other popular sites it’s simply a book idea to book in advance to avoid being turned away. Anyone considering a visit to a tourist hotspot such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre museum or Versailles palace during the summer is strongly advised to reserve their tickets in advance.

READ ALSO What places in France do I need to book a visit in advance? 

Amsterdam

Amsterdam has long been trying to clean up a reputation for rowdy stag parties, drugs and sex that has been partly blamed on an influx of around 20 million visitors a year.

In 2023 it launched an online campaign aimed at discouraging young British men from travelling to Amsterdam to get high or very drunk, telling them in typically blunt Dutch fashion to “stay away” or risk arrest.

Amsterdam also announced last week a ban on new hotels and that it would halve the number of river cruise ships in the city within five years.

It also decided last year to ban smoking cannabis on the streets of the red-light district.

Hallstatt and Salzburg in Austria

The tiny village of Hallstatt, a hamlet just 750 people strong not far from Salzburg and bearing a striking resemblance to the fictional kingdom of Arendelle from Disney’s Frozen – last year caused furore when its residents erected a fence at its famous vista to deter selfie-seekers. After a social media backlash, the village – which is also a UNESCO heritage site – removed the fence, but signs remind visitors to enjoy the site quietly.

Residents were also protesting in favour of tourism curbs in the village, which gets as many as 10,000 visitors a day in high season. They want to limit the numbers and ban tour buses in the town after 5:00 p.m.

Not far from Hallstatt, the city made famous by classical music, Hollywood classics and Christmas songs, Salzburg, has also complained about massive tourism and the danger of being “overrun by mass tourists and day trippers”. 

The city’s tourism boss Christine Schönhuber said: “We only want those who stay overnight”. The western Austrian city is yet to take any concrete measures, but it has floated ideas such as closing some streets to cars and putting restrictions on souvenir shops. The city is also considering closing the bus terminal at the city’s Mirabellplatz to day tripping companies – allowing only those transporting overnight guests.

Iseltwald, Switzerland

The quaint Swiss village of Iseltwald has been forced to limit the number of tourists after fans of a South Korean Netflix hit show flocked to the region in droves sparking a backlash from locals.

Iseltwald is often referred to as the pearl of Lake Brienz, and rightfully so. The fishing village is located on the left bank of the river and is one of the smallest communities in the canton of Bern – and locals would like to keep it that way.

A picture taken on June 2, 2023 shows the village of Iseltwald at the shore of Lake Brienz, in the Swiss Alps. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Dubrovnik

Croatia’s medieval walled city of Dubrovnik is one of Europe’s most overcrowded cities, with the flow of tourists sometimes making it impossible to walk inside the historic Old Town.

The jewel of the Adriatic has seen a huge surge in visitor numbers since scenes from the series “Game of Thrones” were filmed on its ramparts in 2011.

In 2023, the town of 41,000 people received 1.2 million tourists, below 2019’s record of 1.4 million.

In 2019 local authorities limited the number of cruise ship arrivals to two per day, with no more than 4,000 passengers each at a time.

They also launched an app that uses machine learning and weather forecasts to predict when the Old Town, a UNESCO world heritage site, will be busiest.

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