European holiday destinations are “hitting max capacity earlier and earlier” travel experts have warned, amid overcrowding at landmarks like the Acropolis in Athens, the Trevi fountain in Rome and the Vatican.
Not all countries are coping well with this boom, the experts have added, after the European Travel Commission revealed business is up by five per cent compared to this time last year.
One country facing unprecedented demand is Spain, which is on course for a record-breaking 100 million tourists this year, The Daily Mail reports.
Travel adviser Kevin Schreck, who lives in Valencia, told the newspaper: “In this area of the Mediterranean, tourism has been going up consistently for the past three years, and we’ve been hitting max capacity earlier and earlier.
“We’ve definitely seen a big influx compared to the last few years… even now, despite the heatwaves and anti-tourist protests in the area, it continues to rise
“From my perspective, it’s starting to become rather unsustainable. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Spain is coping rather well, even if the numbers look positive from one angle.”
Luxury rental provider Nero Line said peak weeks are now being booked earlier, with less room to manoeuvre than past seasons.
The firm attributed a “meaningful share” of the uplift to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as holidaymakers steer clear of Turkey, Egypt and Cyprus and opt instead for western and central Europe.
Elsewhere, a report from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) last month stated that “concentrated visitor flows are placing pressure on infrastructure and communities in some destinations”.
It added that lack of “robust infrastructure” in some places could hinder quality experiences.
The soaring visitor numbers come in spite of environmental challenges, which have seen wildfires cause havoc across Spain and south western France including 200,000 people evacuated.
A spokeswoman for the Guardia Civil in Almeria said that along with the deaths of seven British nationals, there were three fatalities from Belgium and one from each of the United States, France and Spain.
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