Fodor's just dropped their No List for 2025, revealing 15 popular destinations struggling with mass tourism. From trash-covered beaches in Bali to angry locals in Barcelona, the travel guide warns would-be vacationers to reconsider going to places where a sizable percentage of the locals don't want them.
Examples include:
- Mountains of garbage turning pristine beaches into landfills, with Bali generating 1.6 million tons of waste annually
- Local residents being priced out of their own neighborhoods, with Lisbon losing 30% of its population since 2013
- Sacred sites like Mount Everest drowning in tourist waste, with 30 tons of garbage and human waste littering its slopes
- Historic cities becoming unlivable theme parks, with 60% of Lisbon's housing now converted to vacation rentals
- Violent anti-tourist protests erupting across Europe, with locals spraying visitors with water guns in Barcelona
- Critical water shortages threatening both tourists and residents in places like Sicily
- Astronomical rent increases pricing out locals, with Barcelona's rents soaring 68% in a decade
- Mass tourism transforming quiet villages into overcrowded commercial zones
- Unregulated development destroying natural habitats and increasing risk of landslides
- Local economies becoming dangerously dependent on tourism revenue
New to the No List are Kyoto and Tokyo, which are suffering under severe overtourism, a phenomenon dubbed kankō kōgai (tourism pollution). They have installed congestion cameras, separate bus stops, and warning signs to deal with record-breaking tourist numbers, driven by a weakened yen. The surge has led to overcrowding at popular sites, rising accommodation costs (up 25% from pre-pandemic levels), and disruption to local life.
Previously:
• Overtourism: the plague affecting the world's most interesting places
