Crowded Icons, Growing Pains: New Data-Driven Insights Reinforce the Need for Sustainable Visitor Management
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 27, 2025 – A new report from Arival and Destination Wayfinder, ‘Beyond Capacity: Managing Demand at Europe’s Top Attractions’, highlights the growing strain on Europe’s most popular travel experiences and outlines steps the industry can take to ensure long-term balance and accessibility. The findings, based on analysis of over 56 million guest reviews across 300,000 experience listings and 32,000 destinations, reveal the continued concentration of demand in a small number of cities and attractions.
Just 50 cities – representing less than 0.2% of all European destinations – account for nearly half of all traveler reviews of tours, activities and attractions. In these destinations, a handful of experiences attract a disproportionate share of attention. In Paris, for example, the top five attractions among more than 4,000 operator listings generate 44% of all reviews. Similar patterns emerge in Rome (34%), Barcelona (43%) and Amsterdam (41%).
“The global appeal of these iconic places is undeniable,” said Douglas Quinby, Co-Founder and CEO of Arival. “But the intense demand is creating significant operational and visitor management challenges. This report is a call to action for destinations, operators and attractions to collaborate on smarter, more sustainable solutions.”
The report examines the practical implications of this concentrated demand. From limited ticket availability and outdated technology to regulatory changes and concerns around ethical ticketing practices, many operators and attractions face mounting pressure to meet guest expectations while preserving the visitor experience.
In response, the report provides practical guidance for action. It recommends attractions and operators modernize ticketing and visitor management through dynamic pricing, timed entry and real-time analytics. Improving connectivity with resellers via APIs and establishing transparent ticketing rules are also key to reducing friction and enhancing guest access. Additionally, equitable access strategies, such as local priority windows, off-peak incentives and queue management tools, can help distribute demand more fairly.
For destination organizations, the report calls for greater investment in experience diversification, including promotion of lesser-known neighborhoods, local guides and smaller-scale cultural offerings. It also encourages stronger stakeholder and community engagement through resident input and visitor flow mapping, along with coordinated public-private planning efforts modeled after programs like Copenhagen’s “Localhood”.
“Overtourism is a symptom of destination imbalance, signaling a need for greater and improved destination management. Destinations have a responsibility to not only create transformational visitor experiences but to protect these historical and cultural sites for future generations,” said Kristin Dunne, Vice President of Destination Wayfinder. “This report underscores critical opportunities for destination organizations in coordinating balanced, multi-stakeholder solutions to ensure tourism benefits and contributes to the overall well-being of a destination, its communities and visitors.”
The report concludes that overtourism is no longer just a seasonal or situational issue but a systemic challenge. Addressing it requires a collaborative and multi-faceted approach across the tourism ecosystem to ensure Europe’s top experiences remain accessible and enjoyable for travelers and residents alike.
Arival produces conferences, insights and community for tours, activities and attractions and is the global research authority for in-destination experiences. Arival research offers exclusive, primary quantitative and qualitative research to help tour, activity, and attraction industry professionals understand key market trends, identify new opportunities, set their strategies, track their competitors and understand their customers. Learn more at Arival.Travel.
Destination Wayfinder is an industry-led initiative and destination management tool enabling destination organizations to measure, monitor and improve destination stewardship capability and outcomes. Through strategic investment in research, technology and collaboration with the Global Stewardship Innovation Lab—a network of thought leaders, researchers, and stewardship practitioners—Destination Wayfinder delivers a best-practice destination management framework designed to guide organizations toward sustainable and regenerative outcomes. Learn more at DestinationWayfinder.com.
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