Counting the cost: Mass tourism in Europe creates jobs but what is the knock-on effect?

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Counting the cost: Mass tourism in Europe creates jobs but what is the knock-on effect?  Europe recorded more than 747 million international tourist arrivals in 2024, a hefty increase on the 416 million reported in 2005, according to UN Tourism data.   READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/06/19/counting-the-cost-mass-tourism-in-europe-creates-jobs-but-what-is-the-knock-on-effect  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Madrid, Barcelona and Naples on Sunday to call for an

00:10end to what they call the touristification of their cities. In recent years, mass tourism has

00:16surged in Europe for a number of reasons. The more available income in middle classes in many

00:23of the countries, more accessible travel in terms of air capacity, but also in terms of airfares,

00:29and also in many, many countries. And I always give the example of Europe with Schengen,

00:34the facilities of crossing borders, which have dramatically changed over the decades.

00:40The number of international tourist arrivals in Europe has risen from 416 million in 2005 to over

00:47747 million in 2024, according to UN tourism. Between 2019 and 2024, tourist arrivals rose by

00:5818% in Portugal and 12% in Spain and France. In Italy, on the other hand, they fell by 10.5%

01:05over the same period. On one hand, this influx of visitors generates jobs and revenue for tourist

01:12regions. In 2023, Spain earned US$92 billion from international tourists. France received $71

01:20billion, while Italy and Portugal took in $55 billion and $27 billion, respectively. But at what

01:27cost? The increase of short-term furnished accommodation is contributing to soaring property

01:33prices and growing housing difficulties for locals. Between 2015 and 2023, property prices rose by an

01:41average of 48% in the EU, according to Eurostat. This was 105% in Portugal, 47% in Spain, 31% in France,

01:51and 8% in Italy over the same period. The sector itself needs to define what's the carrying capacity

01:56in certain destinations, where and how can we manage better. And in this situation, new technologies

02:04help because you can do a lot with tracking movements of people. You can have more data and

02:10you can have better information. Some municipalities, victims of their own success, have taken the

02:16problem head on. Amsterdam has banned the construction of new hotels and Dubrovnik has limited the daily

02:21number of cruise ships that can dock.

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