[Tourism] Overtourism in Europe: 127 tourist nights per resident per year in the South Aegean (2000–2024)

[Gabrymi93]

Claim

Tourist intensity varies by a factor of 175× across European regions — from 127 tourist nights per resident per year in the Greek South Aegean to less than 1 in parts of Poland. And the gap is widening.

Data

Dataset: eurostat_tourism_nuts3 — Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by NUTS3 region.
Dataset ID: TOUR_OCC_NIN2
Unit: P_THAB (per 1,000 inhabitants), NUTS2 level.
Year: 2024 (latest full year; some data provisional).

Top 15 most touristed regions (2024)

Region	Country	Nights/1,000 inhab.	Nights per resident
Notio Aigaio (South Aegean)	GR	126,899	126.9
Ionia Nisia (Ionian Islands)	GR	103,440	103.4
Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen	IT	68,920	68.9
Jadranska Hrvatska (Adriatic Croatia)	HR	67,450	67.5
Illes Balears	ES	59,951	60.0
Kriti (Crete)	GR	55,607	55.6
Tirol	AT	50,608	50.6
Algarve	PT	47,475	47.5
Canarias	ES	44,439	44.4
Salzburg	AT	44,132	44.1
Região Autónoma da Madeira	PT	37,320	37.3
Provincia Autonoma di Trento	IT	36,034	36.0
Zeeland	NL	33,770	33.8
Corse	FR	30,332	30.3
Valle d'Aosta/Vallée d'Aoste	IT	30,071	30.1

Bottom 10 (selected EU regions)

Region	Country	Nights/1,000 inhab.
Mazowiecki regionalny	PL	727
Sud-Muntenia	RO	838
Opolskie	PL	867
Nord-Est	RO	875
Pest	HU	1,057
Łódzkie	PL	1,103
Wielkopolskie	PL	1,120
Vest	RO	1,179
Podlaskie	PL	1,186
Sud-Vest Oltenia	RO	1,215

The ratio between the top region (South Aegean, 126,899) and the bottom (Mazowiecki regionalny, 727) is 175:1.

Trends over time

Region	2014	2019	2024	Change 2014→2024
South Aegean (GR)	70,084	113,800	126,899	+81%
Algarve (PT)	41,348	50,028	47,475	+15%
Tirol (AT)	47,830	51,505	50,608	+6%
Balearics (ES)	56,432	59,050	59,951	+6%
Canaries (ES)	44,592	44,635	44,439	~flat

The South Aegean stands out dramatically: from 70k to 127k nights per 1,000 inhabitants in a decade — an 81% increase. This is likely driven by the explosive growth of short-term rentals and tourism infrastructure in islands like Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes.

What the data says

• Overtourism is highly concentrated: the top 10 regions are all Mediterranean or Alpine. No Northern or Eastern European region makes the list.
• The bottom regions are all in Eastern Europe: Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria. These regions have very little tourism infrastructure relative to population.
• The gap is growing: the most touristed regions are growing faster than the least, widening the tourism divide.
• COVID did not reset the trend: 2024 values for most top regions are at or above 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
• Greece dominates: 3 of the top 5 regions are Greek. The South Aegean alone is in a league of its own.

Query to reproduce

Top 20 most touristed regions

SELECT geo_label_en,
  ROUND(value, 0) AS nights_per_1000_inhabitants
FROM data
WHERE unit = 'P_THAB'
  AND c_resid = 'TOTAL'
  AND nace_r2 = 'I551-I553'
  AND year = 2024
  AND nuts_level = 'NUTS2'
ORDER BY value DESC
LIMIT 20;

Trend for a specific region

SELECT geo_label_en, year,
  ROUND(value, 0) AS nights_per_1000_inhabitants
FROM data
WHERE unit = 'P_THAB'
  AND c_resid = 'TOTAL'
  AND nace_r2 = 'I551-I553'
  AND nuts_level = 'NUTS2'
  AND geo_label_en IN ('Notio Aigaio', 'Illes Balears', 'Tirol')
  AND year IN (2014, 2019, 2024)
ORDER BY geo_label_en, year;

Caveats

• P_THAB normalizes by resident population, so small regions with moderate tourist numbers can rank higher than large regions with massive absolute tourism. For absolute volume, use NR unit instead.
• The data includes ALL accommodation: hotels, hostels, campsites, holiday rentals (Airbnb-style), and short-term stays. It does not include same-day visitors (excursionists).
• Resident population is the denominator: regions with very small populations (e.g., Bolzano: 530k, Valle d'Aosta: 123k) can appear more touristed per capita than they feel on the ground.
• 2024 may include provisional data for some regions (check the flag_desc_en column).
• The metric mixes domestic and foreign tourists: a region could have high intensity mostly from domestic tourism (e.g., Zeeland in the Netherlands) or overwhelmingly from international tourism (e.g., Balearics).
• Seasonality is invisible: annual aggregation hides extreme summer peaks. A region with 50 nights/resident/year might have 90% of those nights concentrated in 3 months.

What do you think?

• Is per-capita tourist nights a fair measure of overtourism?
• Should EU policy address the tourism concentration, or is it a market-driven phenomenon?
• Which regions have the most to lose (or gain) from the current trajectory?
• Would breaking down by domestic vs foreign tourists change the picture?

Let's dig in. 👇