Newsroom
If you’re planning a European getaway in 2025, expect more rules, higher fees, and fewer places to party. From Venice to Santorini, some of Europe’s most iconic destinations are saying “enough is enough” when it comes to mass tourism.
According to Travel and Tour WorldTen countries, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Croatia, Austria, Malta, and Czechia, are rolling out the continent’s strictest tourism reforms yet. Why? Locals are fed up. Overcrowded streets, soaring rents, housing shortages, and crumbling infrastructure have pushed many cities to the brink. Now, the balance is shifting.
In Spain, frustration has reached boiling point. Over 150,000 people took to the streets of Madrid demanding relief from sky-high housing costs driven by short-term rentals. Barcelona plans to ban all tourist apartment rentals by 2028. In the meantime, the city has hiked tourist taxes, while places like Malaga and the Balearic Islands are slapping new restrictions on rentals and raising visitor fees.
Venice is now charging day-trippers €5 just to enter the historic city. Cruise ships are banned from its fragile lagoon, and large tour groups are getting the boot. In Portofino, stop too long for a selfie and you could be fined over €200. Even Rome is tightening access around landmarks like the Trevi Fountain.
Santorini and Mykonos are capping cruise ship arrivals, and summer visitors to the Acropolis will face daily limits and timed tickets. It’s all part of a broader effort to preserve ancient sites and ease pressure on island communities.
Amsterdam’s new motto might as well be “less is more.” No new hotels will be built unless another closes, and cruise ships will be banned by 2035. Paris is going after illegal short-term rentals, and island communities in France like Île-de-Bréhat have already started capping daily visitors.
Austria’s scenic Hallstatt tried building a fence to stop selfie-seeking tourists. Malta is calling for a pause on new hotels. And in Prague, pub crawls and wild bachelor parties are being reined in with curfews and costume bans.
These changes mark a new era for travel in Europe, one where locals are reclaiming their streets, and visitors are being asked to tread more lightly. The message is clear: tourists are welcome, but only if they play by the rules.
Whether it’s a higher hotel tax, stricter rental laws, or limits on when and where you can visit, expect to see more boundaries in place. It’s not about shutting doors, it’s about keeping destinations livable, beautiful, and, yes, still worth visiting. Just maybe with fewer crowds and a little more quiet.
