Tourism at record highs, but under pressure: economics, overtourism and infrastructure
The global tourism industry entered 2026 with a paradox that is increasingly hard to hide behind good numbers: people are travelling more than ever after the pandemic, yet more and more destinations are struggling with costs, overcrowding and infrastructure that cannot keep up. After years of restrictions and recovery, demand returned more strongly than expected, and many countries once again put tourism at the centre of their economic plans. At the same time, the price of travel is rising, local fees and taxes are increasing, and cities and regions are introducing measures to ease pressure on housing, public services and space. In practice, this means that tourism, which brings jobs and revenue, is increasingly turning into a political question: who pays the cost of crowds, noise, waste and rising rents – and who benefits from it. At the heart of the debate is no longer just the number of overnight stays, but also the question of sustainability and the quality of life of local residents.
Demand is growing faster than capacity
According to UN Tourism data, international tourist arrivals in 2025 grew by 4% and reached an estimated 1.52 billion, almost 60 million more than a year earlier. In 2024, according to the same source, around 1.4 billion international arrivals were recorded, meaning the sector practically reached pre-pandemic levels, but with visible differences between regions and types of travel. This growth is also felt in air transport: IATA reported that 2025 brought record demand, with global demand (RPK) up 5.3% compared to 2024 and a record annual load factor of 83.6%. The key warning from the same report is that strong demand still “masks” persistent capacity bottlenecks, which spill over to travellers through higher fares, a more limited choice of flights and more fragile chains of delays. ACI World, in its forecast, also starts from the assumption that passenger numbers will grow strongly in the long term, estimating that global air traffic could reach about 10.2 billion passengers as early as 2026, which further intensifies the question: can airports, borders and local infrastructure sustain that pace without new investment.
Economic pressures: prices, taxes and “expensive” mobility
In macroeconomic terms, tourism is often presented as one of the few industries that can regain momentum relatively quickly, but precisely for that reason it becomes sensitive to any change in costs. In its 2025 projections, WTTC highlights the sector’s record global economic role – with an expected contribution of USD 11.7 trillion, or about 10.3% of world GDP – but at the same time warns that momentum is slowing in some major markets. High inflation and labour costs, rising energy prices, higher costs of services and financing, and increasing pressure on public budgets have led many authorities to seek additional revenue sources precisely in tourism. In practice, this is seen through the ever wider use of tourist fees, but also through rising prices of transport and accommodation, which can redirect part of demand toward cheaper destinations or shorter trips. For the industry, this is not only a question of “how many people will travel”, but also what travel patterns will look like: more short trips, a larger share of last-minute decisions, and growing pressure on attractive city centres and the coast. In such an environment, the financial sustainability of destinations is increasingly tied to the ability to charge for the cost of tourist pressure, while not “choking” competitiveness.
Tax measures and fees: cities seek a balance
The most visible instrument by which local authorities try to shift part of the burden onto visitors is the tourist fee – and in Europe this practice is spreading and tightening rapidly. In Barcelona, Catalan lawmakers at the end of February 2026 backed a significant increase in the tourist tax, aiming to curb excessive tourism and fund social policies such as affordable housing. According to publicly available information, from 1 April 2026 hotel guests can pay a maximum of between 10 and 15 euros per person per night, depending on the accommodation category, with the highest rates linked to luxury hotels. Amsterdam previously, through budget documents, raised the tourist tax to 12.5% of the nightly rate, arguing that visitors should contribute more to funding the city’s needs and public investment. Venice, faced with chronic overcrowding of the historic centre, introduced a model of charging entry for day visitors (the so-called “day-tripper fee”), priced at 5 euros and a higher price for late registrations, applied on certain peak-season days, with a registration system and QR codes. The common denominator of these measures is not only revenue, but also an attempt to change the structure of demand: encourage longer stays, ease peak days and collect data on visitor movements. However, as hoteliers and some local stakeholders warn, a sudden rise in fees can also have unwanted consequences – from spillover of visitors into neighbouring municipalities to strengthening the grey rental market and increasing pressure on infrastructure outside the city centre.
Overtourism: when numbers outstrip quality of life
The discussion about overtourism is no longer an abstract concept from conference halls, but increasingly the concrete everyday reality of residents in the most visited areas. In its analyses of urban tourism, UN Tourism highlights that managing tourist flows in cities is a fundamental issue precisely because effects spill over into housing, transport, public order and access to services. In the executive summary of a report dedicated to overtourism, the organization analyses residents’ perceptions in eight European cities – including Amsterdam and Barcelona – and proposes a set of strategies and measures relying on capacity planning, community participation and better stakeholder coordination. In practice, residents’ complaints often revolve around the same points: rising rents and the conversion of apartments into short-term tourist accommodation, “gentrification” and the disappearance of local shops, as well as crowds concentrated in just a few streets and landmarks. An additional problem is the uneven distribution of benefits: tourist traffic fills budgets and certain sectors, but the cost of maintaining public spaces, security, municipal services and infrastructure is largely borne by cities and their residents. As a result, in many destinations the debate is shifting toward a policy of “quality instead of quantity” – with an emphasis on management rather than merely encouraging growth.
Infrastructure at the limit: airports, borders and urban logistics
While tourist traffic returns to record levels, infrastructure is recovering more slowly – not only because of the investment cycle, but also due to administrative and operational constraints. In its 2025 analysis, IATA notes that demand continued to expand amid capacity limits, pointing to a problem that is not short-term: shortages of aircraft and crews in some segments, airport constraints, and the vulnerability of the network when disruptions occur. ACI EUROPE, in its traffic scenarios for European airports, also warns about the “normalisation” of growth after the post-pandemic surge, noting that capacity constraints and macroeconomic uncertainty are among the factors shaping the coming years. A particular dimension of pressure is brought by changes in border procedures: on 12 October 2025 the EU began rolling out the Entry/Exit System (EES), a digital system recording entries and exits for third-country nationals, with biometric registration, with a plan for phased introduction and full application by 10 April 2026. In December 2025, ACI EUROPE called for an urgent review of the EES implementation, warning of operational problems that could lead to systemic disruptions and longer waits, especially during peak periods. When local bottlenecks are added – from public transport to water supply and waste management – it is clear why more and more destinations are seeking a “pause” in growth, i.e., time to upgrade systems.
Examples of flow management: from cruise ships to time-slot bookings
What “management” looks like in practice is best seen in destinations that have already gone through a phase of uncontrolled growth and are now introducing more precise arrival regimes. Dubrovnik, whose historic core has for years been a symbol of cruise-tourism pressure, in recent years set limits for cruise arrivals and visit scheduling, using models that should reduce simultaneous peak surges. The Dubrovnik Port Authority’s cruise berthing policy document for 2026, published in July 2024, foresees a structured system of application and confirmation of time slots, with the goals of protecting the city’s cultural and environmental integrity. According to the policy description, restrictions are introduced relating to the simultaneous number of visitors from cruise ships, minimum length of stay, and prioritisation of vessels according to criteria such as passenger numbers and time of arrival. For cities with sensitive heritage, such measures have a dual role: they reduce short-term shocks in the centre and enable municipal services to plan needs more realistically, from security to cleaning and public transport. At the same time, they are a signal to the market – travel agencies, carriers and platforms – that a destination’s “capacity” can no longer be treated as unlimited.
What the industry seeks from policies: planning, simplification and better service
Within the industry, it is increasingly heard that tourism cannot survive on a logic of short-term “maximising” arrivals, but on long-term planning that includes infrastructure, tax predictability and service standards. In its recommendations on managing urban tourism, UN Tourism stresses the need for tourism to be integrated into a broader city agenda, with a shared stakeholder vision and measures tailored to the destination’s specifics. WTTC, on the other hand, warns that despite strong global trends there are markets that are slowing, which increases the importance of competitiveness and the quality of the offer. In practice, key demands can be summarised in several directions:
- Investment in infrastructure and “invisible” systems. Without modernisation of airports, rail and road hubs and municipal systems, peak season becomes a security and logistical risk, not just an inconvenience. It is particularly important to invest in digital systems for queue management, passenger information and data collection, so that decisions are based on real flows, not estimates.
- Tax simplicity and predictability. Tourist fees and taxes can make sense when they are transparent, earmarked and stable, but frequent changes and complex regimes create room for misunderstandings and non-payment. Cities introducing new levies increasingly justify them by funding public services and housing, so clearer communication is expected about what this money funds and what the effect is on the community.
- Capacity management instead of “firefighting”. Time-slot reservations for attractions, limits on cruise arrivals, differentiated pricing for peak days and encouraging visits off-season are among the tools that reduce extreme crowding. The key is to introduce such measures before residents’ dissatisfaction turns into lasting resistance to tourism and political polarisation.
- Service standard and workforce. The quality of customer service, from airports to hotels and public transport, becomes a competitive advantage in conditions where travellers pay more and expect less stress. This includes investment in training, retaining workers and aligning seasonal needs with the local labour market.
In the next seasons, it will be increasingly important how destinations respond to this combination of pressures: whether they use growing demand for investment and better management, or try to “patch” problems with ad hoc fees and temporary restrictions. For travellers, this means travel rules will change more often depending on the destination – from new border procedures to local levies and reservation systems. For cities and regions, the challenge is greater: preserve the revenues and jobs tourism brings, while protecting public space, housing and the everyday life of the community that remains in the destination when the season ends.
Sources:- UN Tourism – announcement on international tourist arrivals in 2025 and the World Tourism Barometer (UN Tourism)- UN Tourism – World Tourism Barometer (January 2025) with the 2024 arrivals estimate (UN Tourism Barometer)- IATA – release on passenger demand results in 2025 and capacity constraints (29 January 2026) (IATA Pressroom)- ACI World – global air traffic forecast and announcement of “World Airport Traffic Forecasts 2025–2054” (28 January 2026) (ACI World)- ACI EUROPE – scenarios and forecasts for European airport traffic (April 2025 update) (ACI EUROPE)- European Union – official information on the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the phased rollout plan until 10 April 2026 (EU EES)- ACI EUROPE – press release on the need for an urgent review of EES implementation (18 December 2025) (ACI EUROPE Press Release)- WTTC – estimates of tourism’s economic contribution in 2025 and warnings of “economic headwinds” (WTTC)- RTÉ – report on Barcelona’s tourist tax increase and the goal of funding affordable housing (25 February 2026) (RTÉ)- Associated Press – report on the expansion of Venice’s fee for day visitors (2025) (AP)- Gemeente Amsterdam – budget documents on raising the tourist tax to 12.5% (2024) (Amsterdam budget)- Dubrovnik Port Authority – cruise berthing policy for 2026 (published 29 July 2024) via the EU “Transition Pathways” platform (Dubrovnik cruise policy)- UN Tourism – executive summary of the report on overtourism and managing urban tourism growth (UN Tourism overtourism)
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