Caño Cristales, Colombia
Home to jaw-dropping waterfalls and “the river of seven colors” due to its hallucinogenic concoction of pink, red, green and blue microorganisms living in the water, Caño Cristales has long been popular, especially after a peace agreement was signed in 2016 between the government of Colombia and the country’s largest rebel group.
But this extremely fragile ecosystem reached a breaking point in 2017, and access to the site was restricted to give the river a break. Today, the Colombian government welcomes those who respect the ecological value of this area and the importance of responsible tourism. In 2024, about 8,500 people visited, with more expected in 2025.
Maya Beach, Thailand
The cult classic Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach turned this remote location in Thailand into a major tourist trap, and it’s not hard to see why. The secluded cove features glittering, translucent water, white sands and limestone cliffs.
As more and more tourists flocked to the sandy shores, Maya Beach became nearly impossible to enjoy. Visitors could hardly walk, never mind lie down and get some rays. Thailand was forced to close the beach in 2018, but after a massive rehabilitation and conservation program, the beloved beach reopened to tourists in January 2022. To prevent this treasure from becoming ruined by tourism again, it closes every year for two months for environmental rehabilitation.
Boracay, Philippines
The beautiful island of Boracay was once revered for its exclusivity, but mass-market tourism and lack of infrastructure led to a major downfall as the island’s gorgeous beaches became overwhelmed. In 2018, the island underwent a six-month closure to visitors to allow authorities to restore it.
The four-mile-long island reopened with new rules, including restrictions on the number of visitors, and hotels and other businesses must adhere to environmental regulations. Forbes reports that the island in 2025 now feels cleaner and calmer, with a mix of tourists enjoying pristine white sand beaches and calm, shallow waters.
Machu Picchu, Peru
One of the new Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu became one of the world’s places ruined by tourism due to the massive influx of visitors that flock to the Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains of Peru. (An estimated 1.5 million people are expected to visit in 2025.) To combat the damage to this UNESCO World Heritage site, tourism authorities now limit the number of visitors through allotted time slots, advance ticket purchases and other crowd control measures.
Venice, Italy
Built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea, Venice is undoubtedly one of the most visited places in the world. The main allure of Venice is its famed canals, while the abundance of delicious food and wine, culture and ornate architecture add to its allure. But overtourism has chipped away at the city’s vitality, and it is well on the way to disappearing completely.
Cruise ships and group bus tours have turned famed sights like St. Mark’s Square into a sea of people, and locals have long debated how to reclaim the character of the city. Beginning in 2024, Venice began charging day-tripping tourists a fee to keep the city from joining the list of places ruined by tourism. The system has been popular, and according to Time, the fees will continue in 2025 and beyond.
Cozumel, Mexico
Cozumel, an island situated just off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula from another popular watering hole, Cancun, has long attracted tourists looking to relax in the sun. Many visitors arrive via cruise ship, which has harmed one of the idyllic island’s most prized possessions: its coral reef, which lies under the azure waters right offshore.
Climate change and ocean acidification are also to blame for Cozumel’s tough times, and the boat traffic has only made the situation worse. According to the 2024 Mesoamerican Reef Report, Cozumel’s reef situation is the worst in the region, with a rating of “poor.” But there is some good news: The same report says that for the first time in five years, reef health improved due to higher fish populations and better enforcement of fisheries rules.
Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
This Indonesian archipelago near the island of New Guinea is made up of four big islands, one medium-sized one and thousands of tiny islands, all of which form part of the Coral Triangle, where some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity resides. The breathtaking beauty of this spot, also referred to as the “Four Kings,” has brought tourists and cruise ships to this UNESCO Global Geopark.
But that increase in interest isn’t without environmental impact. In March of 2017, a nearly 300-foot cruise ship called the Caledonian Sky ran aground in the coral reefs surrounding the islands. Instead of waiting for high tide, the boat was tugged out, causing even more damage. As of 2025 cleanup and restoration has been stalled in bureaucracy and lawsuits. Though the island group is still as gorgeous as ever, the reef became one of the world’s once-pristine places ruined by tourism.
Antarctica
Once an untouched frozen landscape, Antarctica is in trouble from climate change and the mass infiltration of tourists. Boat traffic from Chile and Argentina down to the Antarctic Peninsula has greatly increased water pollution, threatening the lives of unique species like the Emperor penguin.
Before the 1980s, only a few hundred people visited Antarctica per year; in 2024 the number stood at 100,000. The Antarctic Treaty, an agreement that was signed in 1959 that established protocols for the landmass, does not establish a cap on visitors. Instead, it has provisions that limit the number of people allowed on shore to 100 at a time, while ships carrying more than 500 passengers are not allowed at any of the landing sites.
Bhutan
Count this one as one of the countries that actively resists following in the footsteps of places ruined by tourism. Visitors were not allowed in Bhutan until 1974, and the country has long restricted tourists to prevent overcrowding and environmental degradation. Nevertheless, the land-locked Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas’ eastern edge is a favorite among tourists for its monasteries, fortresses and dramatic landscapes. The country has what it calls a “high value, low volume” approach to tourism, and charges a “sustainable development fee” to visitors. It’s the only South Asian nation that’s carbon negative, meaning it absorbs more carbon than it emits.
Pig Beach, The Bahamas
The only inhabitants of this beach on Big Major Cay are feral pigs, and they’re famous for swimming right alongside the tourists who flock there to get an up-close-and-personal Instagram photo op. After a wave of pig deaths in 2017 which were blamed on tourists, the pigs are now cared for by custodians and volunteers who ensure they have fresh water and medical care. Signage now reminds tourists to responsibly feed the porcine residents pig-friendly food such as fresh fruit and vegetables.
Cinque Terre, Italy
This group of five tiny villages hugging the coast of Italy on the Ligurian Sea has been a draw for centuries. When the sun hits the bright and colorful houses on the cliffsides of the Italian Riviera, tourists whip out their cameras for the perfect shot of architectural and natural beauty. Over the years, residents have been overwhelmed by the number of people who swarm to this idyllic and picturesque string of villages.
“Our problem isn’t overtourism but overcrowding, and during certain periods of the year,” Fabrizia Pecunia, the mayor of two of the towns, Manarola and Riomaggiore, told the Guardian. In 2024 the towns implemented limitations on the number of vessels that could approach by sea, and made a major trail that goes through the area one-way on public holidays.
The Isle of Skye, Scotland
One of the most picturesque places in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Skye is known for its rugged landscapes, quaint fishing villages and medieval castles. Crossing the Skye Bridge to the island from Scotland’s northwest coast is a test of patience these days, with hordes of people packed in caravans, motorhomes and cars, often in standstill traffic.
To control crowds on this stunner of an island in the Outer Hebrides, officials started going after illegal parking—to the tune of £400,000 collected from more than 7,000 tourists in 2024. That’s more than double the number in 2020. It seems this island will not become one of the places ruined by tourism without a fight.
Mallorca, Spain
This Spanish island is one of the most popular and beautiful Mediterranean islands, attracting millions of visitors yearly. With stunning beach resorts, sheltered coves, limestone mountains, Roman and Moorish ruins and top-notch nightlife, it’s no surprise this island is such a draw. But full-time residents rebelled against the throngs of visitors, and in 2025 some tourists were met with signs exhorting the newcomers to “go home.”
But the president of the Mallorca Hotel Federation denies the isle has an overtourism problem, instead acknowledging that certain areas and landmarks get busy at certain times. To combat the crowds and the negative press, officials have implemented digital crowd tracking and management tools, improved public transit and introduced controlled access passes.
Santorini, Greece
One of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, Santorini is dotted with whitewashed, cubiform houses tucked into cliffs overlooking the sea. Visitors can’t get enough of this most popular destination in Greece, which topped 3.4 million visitors in 2024. The whole complex of Santorini islands is still an active volcano, thought to be the only one in the world whose crater is in the sea, and the island has suffered from rising water and energy consumption.
Santorini’s mayor, Nikos Zorzos, said in 2024 that construction spurred by tourism must stop before the island reaches a breaking point. “We live in a place of barely 25,000 souls and we don’t need any more hotels or any more rented rooms,” he told the Guardian. “If you destroy the landscape, one as rich as ours, you destroy the very reason people come here in the first place.”
Fjadrargljufur Canyon, Iceland
Iceland’s Fjadrargljufur Canyon is truly breathtaking. This gorgeous natural wonder with 328-foot tall walls was only known by locals until it was featured in Justin Bieber’s 2015 music video “I’ll Show You.” Afterward, the foot traffic in Fjadrargljufur began to increase rapidly.
Local officials stressed the need for better infrastructure to keep the canyon from becoming one of the places ruined by tourism, and in the years since the Bieber video things have been happening. In 2019, the Environmental Agency of Iceland began closing the canyon for all but five weeks out of the year to give the area a chance to regenerate. In 2022 the land the canyon splits was bought by a private entity for about $2 million, and in 2024, the entire thing was declared a nature preserve.
Komodo Island, Indonesia
There are only about 1,300 adult Komodo Dragons in the world, and they all live on this tiny island (and a few neighbors) in Indonesia. The wildly popular lizards draw huge crowds to this UNESCO World Heritage site, and in 2024 officials debated closing the park periodically to reduce the pressure on the environment. Currently the closures are still in the planning stages, but you can also get a peek of the largest lizards in the world in their natural habitat on the neighboring Rinca and Gili Motong islands.
Mount Everest
People have been scaling Mount Everest ever since Edmond Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay did it in 1953. Though one of Earth’s greatest natural wonders, it is unfortunately now known as one of the places ruined by tourism. Tens of thousands of people a year visit the Sagarmatha National Park, where Everest is located, and about 800 people summit. But all those decades of human activity have taken a toll: Trash, gear and even bodies litter the trails and icy crevasses. In 1998, the Sherpa-controlled Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) was formed, and they manage 120 waste bins and collect 50 tons of trash a year just from the base camp. In 2022, the SPCC began a “carry me back” program where volunteers agree to bring down over two pounds of trash each time they return from the mountain.
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Sources:
- World Travel & Tourism Council: “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research (EIR)”
- National Natural Parks of Colombia: “Caño Cristales”
- Forbes: “Why Boracay Is Back On The Map For Luxe Island Travel”
- CNN: “Thailand bay made famous by ‘The Beach’ finally reopens”
- Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty: “Tourism and Non-Governmental Activities”
- Reuters: “Bhutan seeks to balance economy and environment with tourist tax”
- Islands of The Bahamas: “Official Home of Bahamas Swimming Pigs”
- BBC: “Parking fines soar in Skye tourist site crackdown”
- Independent: “Mallorca hotels hit back against anti-tourist protests with new campaign welcoming visitors”
- Guardian: “‘Everywhere jam-packed’: mayor of Santorini warns of overtourism crisis”
- CNN: “Iceland beauty spot Fjaðrárgljúfur closing to tourists”