Well you have to avoid more and more most of the famous tourist meccas - Paris, Venice, Bruges, Florence, etc and yes there are delightful places outside of these gems but most U.S. travellers anyway go on tours once in lifetime and want to go to Amsterdam, Pairs, Venice, etc. I guess escalating prices and limiting available accommodations and docks for cruise ships and bus tours are inevitable - just wait until Chinese really start traveling in mass numbers. And Europeans no doubt also contribute to the over tourism they lament in their hometowns - like to south of France which for ages has been inundated by northern Europeans and Italians and Brits.

The Chinese are already travelling in large numbers PalenQ. Last time I was in Florence was 2 years ago in mid March and it was comparatively quiet but there were a lot of big Chinese tour groups and the concierge at my hotel said March and November were Chinese months in Florence.

This summer in St. Petersburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm there were loads of large groups of Chinese tourists, you can hear them coming from a mile away and they have not learned not to hawk and spit all over the place yet.

Oh, careful, raincitygirl, lest BritishCaicos accuse you of racism as he did me when I mentioned the same thing,The Chinese tourists own Paris now. Is it racist to say that they are not the most considerate of visitors?

The Chinese have become the highest spending tourists in the world in terms of purchases. In France they spend an average of 3400 euros each on mostly luxury goods, and there are almost 3 million of them in this year. In Europe 24.6% of them go to France, 15.6% to Germany, 9.2% to Switzerland and 8.7% to Spain. We just need to get used to them.

All of the countries mentioned have elected democratic governments. And I suspect it's like what happens in the US: A lot of it goes back to who runs for office and how involved citizens are.

Cities can and do set rules on AirBnB. I live in Portland and they have licensing and rules.

I like Isabel's idea of the rules about selfie sticks and climbing on monuments. Cities absolutely could set up cameras near the monuments, and when a tour company arrives, they need to show their little sign before the camera. If any of their group breaks the rule, a fine gets sent to them, just like the ZTLs with a photo of the offending persons.

European Parliament is starting to discuss bringing back night trains, and I believe there are discussions between Dutch and German railways about resurrecting the Amsterdam to Berlin night service.
But the main topic under discussion is making high speed rail links competitive with airlines. However, as long as ending the outrageous fuel subsidies for airlines isn't being discussed, these are all good intentions, but no real policy will come from it.

Never use the Belgium trains.:toj:

Wise lesson: the train conductor is God.

I can tell you from experience that there are places which become "mobbed" at times and I've just been in two of them: Verona and now Edinburgh.
In Verona, the 16,000 people who attend the opedra performances between mid-June and the end of August are all over the place eating, shopping, and spending money during the day. You can hardly walk along the Via Mazzini or around Piazza Erbe during the day but obviously the merchants, restaurants, and hotelkeepers LOVE it.

Edinburgh during the Fringe in August: Royal Mile sections closed off for street performances. Our hotel is one of the venues and the lobby yesterday was chaotic with people streaming in and out buying tickets; last night a bunch of folks were on the curb outside yelling and screaming at 1 in the morning but that's the way it is in August and we've seen the same thing in years past. Trash on the streets, etc., seems to be part of the deal

People flock to places for a reason.

This thread started with sympathy for the poor people of Amsterdam, who apparently are the latest casualties from over-tourism. Then, I read about the brawl that broke out yesterday at the Trevi Fountain. Eight policemen, 8 arrested, all over two women vying for the best selfie position. One American, one Dutch. Perhaps from Amsterdam? The point is that boorish travel behavior comes in all ages, colors, nationalities. My Dad introduced us to Europe 18 years ago. He spoke Italian and introduced us to ways of trying to not have locals associate us with the “Ugly Americans.” We frankly still sometimes pretend to be Canadians. In the past, we have searched for ways and places to avoid some people, especially busloads of American and Chinese. Try Trieste or Puglia in Italy, for example. We were excited to find few Americans on Lake Garda last fall, after so many of us on Lake Como. But, we must admit, there were some annoying and loud Germans to contend with there. A few years ago, we were trying to tour Versailles with wall to wall crowds, mostly Chinese, and my always gentle wife, after being poked for the umpteenth time by a selfie stick (this one in her face) finally proudly shoved the offender. Our work-around was to recognize that tourists arriving by bus are on a short leash, so we were able to find peace in the gorgeous Versaille gardens. And, we didn’t have to compete with large groups at the lesser, but therefore more enjoyable, Trianon palace, far from the bus lot. Isabel makes some good suggestions, bu realistically, if you want to travel, there will be more of the same, maybe worse, for the foreseeable future. And, for now, it makes sense to look for alternatives (for example, within several hundred yards of large cruise ships in little old Villefranche, the Nice stop), there is the nicest shoreline hiking trail, leading from ritzy and quiet Cap Ferrat back to Villefranche. There is even a Rothschild villa and its many gardens to explore. And, in their rush to get on buses to Nice and Monaco, you won’t see one cruise passenger along this spectacular path.

whitehall as usual sums it up nicely - even in places like Amsterdam easy to find parts of city calm and really nice (I would expect) - the mass tourism sticks to a few places though airbnbs have infiltrated these areas too.

Pal, airbnb is not the culprit when it comes to “mob” tourism. Cruise passengers and bus tours do not end up at airbnbs. Yes, there are some local issues with agencies like airbnb, that need to be handled via local business licensing and zoning.That is mostly issues relating to pricing locals out of the local rental market or having too much transiency in certain residential areas. Not necessarily bringing in the wrong types of tourists IMO. I am a big proponent of using airbnb (and we do) where legal. And there are half a dozen similar companies that offer apartments and homes. It’s a great way to travel for families and small groups; it’s also about the only way to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) from the bountiful European markets. Hard to cook in most hotels.

Lets include the world?
Cornwall.
Galicia

More? Just search tourism overcrowding.

Right now, Cornwall joins the list: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-45147541

Pal, airbnb is not the culprit when it comes to “mob” tourism.>

No I meant what you said.

<oh careful Raincitygirl...> lol St. Cirq, there is nothing racist in having observations about what happens right under one's nose. I had heard that about Paris and I have seen some video footage...unreal. Believe me I live in a city full of newly wealthy Chinese people and could write a book. The people who complain loudest and longest about mainland Chinese are people from Hong Kong.

The brawl at the Trevi fountain was started by an Italian pushing two Dutch teenage girls out of the way so he could get peime selfie space. Their mother reacted to his manhandling of her daughters and a brawl ensued.
The need for a selfie seems to be paramount. Sefie=selfish - little regard for others or for rules. At the Escher exhibition in Leeuwarden there are signs everywhere indicating no photography yet a couple of people found it necessary to pose in front of his work and take selfies, blocking the view of the rest of us while they got their pose just right. I said to one that photography was not allowed and he replied he would pretend to be French and not understand. i pointed to the international no photography symbol and said that is understood in any language except by certain boors, and walked off. Later he was told of twice by someone working there, and I heard he was removed.
Most of those selfies, or photos will never be looked at again, but languish unloved on the phone.

The Chinese have ruined Giethoorn, amongst other places.
Sleazyjet and Ryancon have ruined a good many cities with the cheap flight stag do yobs.
Icelandair have ruined their own country.
Cruises and guided tours result in big groups blocking the way.
Rick Steves et al ruin other places such as Cinq Terre.
Overtourism is a global problem.
We of course are all "travellers" and not guilty of adding to that overtourism. Much.
I hav no idea what the solution is. Pricing will maybe keep the yobs at home, though I doubt it, but it will not keep the Chinese from travelling, or the cruise ships from getting ever bigger.
I'm off for a night in exciting Twente on Tuesday. Even there, in the back of beyond, it will be too crowded for my taste.

Schnauzer, accommodation has always been difficult in Amsterdam. Airbnb hasn't helped, but there is only so much accomodation available. I hope your son finds somewhere suitable soon. Maybe he can look outside of the city, on train/tram/metro/buslines too.

I do not see any reasonable solution to that all hetismij- Geithorn may have been ruined by Chinese tours (and others I suspect) but does the local economy get a boost - are shop keepers disgusted - double-edge sword all of this.

Excessive tourism, along with AirBnB, is a classic example of the tragedy of the commons (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons ). Unfortunately, it is not clear how to prevent it.

Certainly how to prevent when obviously the local economy does benefit from tourism - the reason for ubiquitous 'tourist boards' promoting tourism. Many people in Amsterdam work in tourist industry I'd wager - in France tourism is a significant part of economy with Paris especially. In part blame it on the affected places themselves.