New border regulations are impacting international travelers to the US
The ubiquity of travel has led to overcrowding by tourists at some of the world's best-known vacation destinations and visitor attractions. Huge crowds are causing environmental degradation, dangerous conditions, and the pricing-out of locals who feel overrun and overlooked as their communities splinter under the weight of foreign footfall. Historically, bad planning and economic recession has led to the closure or abandonment of a number of fine buildings. And at the lowest end of the scale, wanton vandalism has been blamed for the destruction of several natural landmarks. So, what's going on?
Browse this gallery and find out more about the consequences of unsustainable tourism.
In 2019, the Indonesian government announced the closure of Komodo Island, one of its most popular visitor destinations, for one year. Animal smugglers were blamed for threatening the island's wildlife, which includes the iconic Komodo dragon monitor lizard.
Venice is a city long plagued by overcrowding, receiving an average of 75,000 visitors a day. Rules are now in place banning antisocial behavior, and it's forbidden to sit or lie on the steps of bridges and in the doorways of historic monuments. In 2024, the city implemented a tourist tax in an effort to combat overtourism. The destination is also having to deal with the increased threat of flooding.
'Game of Thrones' and a Justin Bieber music video have been blamed for the influx of tourists that descended upon Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon in droves, causing environmental damage and prompting the implementation of a visitor ban to the site.
Dangerous and irresponsible behavior by tourists led to the landmark Wedding Cake Rock in New South Wales being closed permanently in 2015. A survey conducted by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service later concluded that as a result of vandalism, the rock was unstable, and that it would collapse into the Tasman Sea within the next decade.
One Mount Everest base camp on the Tibetan side of the famous peak is now closed to tourists after the trash left by visitors reached unsustainable levels. Garbage found strewn across the formally pristine landscape included human feces and climbing equipment.
The prehistoric Lascaux cave complex near the village of Montignac was closed to the public back in 1963 after carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors began damaging the cave paintings, estimated to be 17,300 years old. A replica cave was opened in 1983 so that visitors could still experience the paintings without damaging the originals.
Maya Bay was so overrun by tourists after the Leonardo DiCaprio film 'The Beach' (2000) that Thai authorities banned visitors, citing damage to the bay's fragile ecosystem. Now, tourist activities are banned between August 1 to September 30, to give nature time to recover and regenerate. Additionally, park officials have enforced strict rules, such as limited daily visitors and the promotion of environmentally friendly practices.
Amsterdam's famous floating Bloemenmarkt (flower market) was founded in 1862. But in 2019, the last florist gave up his store after blaming overcrowding and tourists for blocking locals from buying his flowers.
Barcelona's mayor has pledged to reduce the number of tourists allowed to enter the Catalonian city by cutting cruise ship arrivals and limiting the expansion of the airport. Her argument is that overtourism is undermining the local community spirit and pricing residents out of property and services. In an additional effort, the city also started charging a tourist tax in 2024.
While the closure of Maya Bay remains the most high profile of the Thai authorities' efforts to stem overcrowding, the islands of Koh Khai Nok (pictured), Koh Khai Nui, Koh Tachai, and Koh Khai Nai are also closed indefinitely to tourists.
In October 2019, after years of ignoring repeated warnings not to do so (and upsetting the Indigenous population to make matters worse), tourists were finally banned from climbing Uluru, formally known as Ayers Rock.
In February 2019, thousands of people flocked to Walker Canyon in California to witness a "super bloom" of poppies. Over 50,000 tourists descended on the canyon, leading local authorities to temporarily close the area down to appease residents and reduce traffic flow.
One of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico, Chichen Itza is so overrun by tourists that authorities have closed off a number of monuments to public access. While visitors can still walk around them, they can no longer enter inner chambers or climb exteriors.
Tourists in Rome have been banned from stopping at the city's baroque masterpiece, the Trevi Fountain. This is mainly due to a rise in illegal swimming incidents. Tourists can now only visit by passing through a one-way route that is supervised.
A three-hour time limit is imposed on tourists visiting the Taj Mahal. This is in a bid to reduce the estimated 70,000 people a day that congregate in and around the 17th-century mausoleum complex. In 2024, visitor numbers were capped further to 40,000 a day.
English Heritage, which manages and maintains Stonehenge, has long since roped off the prehistoric monument to prevent visitors from touching and climbing on the stones, which date back to Neolithic times.
In 2018, Philippines' president Rodrigo Duterte described the once-pristine island of Boracay as a "cesspool" in the wake of worsening environmental damage due to tourist overcrowding. The island was subsequently closed off to the public for six months. The destination has since reopened, but concerns are still being raised about the amount of businesses operating on Boracay.
Concerns for the structural integrity and aesthetic appeal of Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge in Paris were voiced after tourists got in the habit of attaching padlocks (love locks) to the railing on the side of the bridge, then tossing the key into the Seine River below. At one point, an estimated 700,000 locks covered the bridge. They have since been removed.
One of Seattle's more unusual visitor draws, Gum Wall is a brick wall covered in used chewing gum. It's been a tourist attraction since 1999. However, controversy surrounds the local landmark, with detractors noting the erosion of the bricks due to the sugar in the gum. A clean-up operation in 2015 yielded over 1,070 kg (2,350 lbs) of gum removed and disposed of.
The location of some of the richest marine biodiversity on Earth, the Raja Ampat Islands made headlines in 2017 when a cruise ship ran aground on a reef, destroying a huge swathe of coral. Environmentalists and academics estimate a recovery time for the reef spanning decades.
Duckbill was a sandstone rock formation at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area in Oregon. The cherished landmark was toppled by vandals in 2016. The perpetrators have never been caught.
The Guaíra Falls were a series of mighty waterfalls on the Paraná River along the border between Brazil and Paraguay. But this natural wonder was lost to the world in 1983 after it was inundated to pave the way for a massive hydroelectric project.
Once capped by a glacier and featuring a ski resort, Chacaltaya Mountain is now bereft of ice. The glacier on Chacaltaya had begun to melt as early as 1980. Global warming has been blamed for its subsequent rapid meltdown, resulting in its total disappearance in 2009.
When it opened in midtown Manhattan in 1905, the New York Hippodrome was billed as the largest theater in the world. It later became a movie theater, then an opera house, and finally a sports arena. The Great Depression finished it off, and it was torn down in 1939 to make way for an office complex.
Opened in 1866, the Royal Opera House of Valletta was one of the finest buildings in the city. In 1873, a fire gutted the interior. Then during WWII, it suffered a direct hit from aerial bombing. Today, only a few columns remain standing.
The original Pennsylvania Station was an early New York City visitor attraction. During its golden era in the mid-1940s, over 100 million passengers passed through this lavish Beaux Arts-style transport hub. Its controversial demolition in 1963 galvanized the modern historical preservation movement in the United States.
The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages when it was built in the early 15th century. But the nine-story pagoda was ultimately destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1850s. Today, a modern life size replica stands on the original site.
Built in 1896, Sutro Baths, a huge saltwater bathing complex located in San Francisco, was the world's largest indoor swimming pool facility. Amenities also included a museum, amphitheater, and ice rink. It burned down in 1966, with its ruins today lying within the Sutro Historic District.
The walkout in May 2019 of the Louvre security staff in protest over the museum's handling of its burgeoning attendance figures highlighted conditions they described as "suffocating" and unacceptable. In 2024, the Louvre received 8.7 million visitors.
Visitor attractions closed, abandoned, or overrun by tourists
Tourist hoards have ruined these sites
TRAVEL Overtourism
The ubiquity of travel has led to overcrowding by tourists at some of the world's best-known vacation destinations and visitor attractions. Huge crowds are causing environmental degradation, dangerous conditions, and the pricing-out of locals who feel overrun and overlooked as their communities splinter under the weight of foreign footfall. Historically, bad planning and economic recession has led to the closure or abandonment of a number of fine buildings. And at the lowest end of the scale, wanton vandalism has been blamed for the destruction of several natural landmarks. So, what's going on?
Browse this gallery and find out more about the consequences of unsustainable tourism.