Filenews 22 August 2025
By Emese Maczko
The latest report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) showed that curbing tourism activity in Europe's most popular cities could lead to losses of €245 billion from the "tourist" GDP and in "scissors" of about 3 million jobs within three years.
The report analyses the potential impact of restricting tourism in 11 major European cities, including Venice, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Paris, where the number of nights per capita is significantly higher than the European average.
The cost
According to the WTTC's analysis, imposing restrictions on international and domestic tourism in these cities will lead to a loss of €245 billion in the GDP of the travel and tourism industry, €122 billion from tax revenues and 2.9 million jobs in the period 2025-2027. These amounts are equivalent to the total of Italy's GDP from tourism.
The economic blow will not be limited to the cities. The WTTC says the effects of reducing tourism spending will extend beyond city limits, hurting national economies and regional supply chains.
Venice could be one of the big losers. The Italian city, which is already experimenting with imposing an entrance ticket on tourists to manage traffic, is expected to lose €14.1 billion directly from its GDP and €18.4 billion from indirect activities.
It is not only gondoliers and hoteliers who are at risk. The blow could affect the economy of the greater Veneto region and lead Italy to a loss of €15.2 billion. In tax revenues, an amount equivalent to the cost of building 260 new hospitals, according to the WTTC.
Amsterdam's potential losses are more dramatic: $12.4 billion. Immediately and 23.6 billion dollars. 364,000 jobs in the Netherlands will be at risk of being lost.
Barcelona and Paris, if they impose restrictions only on visitors from abroad, could lose €29 billion and €30 billion in their GDP, respectively.
In France, 284,000 jobs could be lost and €16.2 billion could be lost. from tax revenues.
What is happening in Europe?
In June 2025, mass protests against overtourism erupted across southern Europe, particularly in Spain, Italy and Portugal, expressing the frustration of southern Europeans about the negative impact of tourism on their cities.
In Barcelona, a city with 1.6 million inhabitants. residents who welcomed 26 million inhabitants. Last year, thousands of people gathered with water guns to throw water at hotels and tourists or put up protest banners, as reported by several international media, including Reuters.
In Paris, the Louvre Museum was temporarily closed for four hours on June 16, 2025, with staff going on a work stoppage protesting the Museum's excessive number of visitors, staff shortages and worsening working conditions caused by overtourism.
The Louvre was designed to house 4 million people. Visitors annually, but last year the museum welcomed almost 9 million visitors.
Even with a daily limit of 30,000 visitors, staff told CNN that "their endurance is relentlessly tested." They pointed to the lack of shady rest areas, limited access to toilets and the sweltering summer heat intensified by the glass pyramid greenhouse effect.
Review of overpopulation
How can Europe's top tourist centres cope with overcrowding without sacrificing jobs, tax revenues and burdening the local economy?
The WTTC calls for a more balanced approach to managing tourism in busy cities, for example, by using real-time data to monitor visitor flows and identify problems early.
Rather than simply reducing the number of visitors, the WTTC recommends that governments, businesses and residents work together to develop joint plans for the future, which will support both the quality of life of residents and the long-term development of tourism. When people feel involved and see how tourism helps their community, they are more likely to support it.
Clare Tobin, CEO of travel agency Wild Frontiers, pointed out another way to combat overtourism in an e-mail interview: "It's important to encourage travellers to visit alternative destinations. There are so many cities and towns in the most popular countries in Europe that they are still largely unexplored. Staying in less crowded areas offers the best opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture of the destination and learn about the local communities."
Tobin cited Amsterdam as an example where the tourism organization encourages travellers to explore the wider area, highlighting attractions and experiences outside the city and developing partnerships with neighbouring cities to create transport routes.
