August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected by rail? Yes, but not in the most straightforward or userfriendly way possible. The Rail Baltica project should remedy this. Unsurprisingly though, this megaproject faces political and budgetary hurdles. It…
Tag: Overtourism
BELGIUM | Overtourism already an issue… in 1926
Complaints about overcrowding, disruptive visitors and pressure on cities may feel like a distinctly modern problem, associated with places such as Venice in Italy, Barcelona in Spain or Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Yet Belgium experienced remarkably similar tensions a century ago, when a surge in foreign visitors sparked widespread unease among local residents.
QUESTION | Should you be stressed about travelling to Japan, and fear of missing out?
Autumn 2025. We – Sam and Danny, Michel and Wille, and Timothy – are travelling to Japan for a quite classic tour of the Land of the Rising Sun. We are flying separately as we used miles. On the planning: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawa, Osaka, and Expo 2025, Hiroshima, Himeji, Miyajima, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Hakone, and…
Is Greece too popular? 2024 tourism statistics raise overtourism concerns
Greece’s tourism sector continued its remarkable post-pandemic rebound in 2024, welcoming a record-breaking 40.7 million international visitors and generating €21.6 billion in travel receipts, according to final figures from the Bank of Greece (Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος).
Osaka wins, Brussels is 42nd: 2025 Yanolja Attractiveness Index for tourism
In 2025, Osaka in Japan has claimed the top spot in the Yanolja Attractiveness Index, overtaking Kyoto, also in Japan, (#3) and surpassing long-established tourism powerhouses such as Paris in France (#2), New York in the United States (#4), and Seoul in South Korea (#5).
AUSTRIA | Introducing Vienna, hosting the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
Austria’s capital Vienna (Wien) has been selected by host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to host the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in May 2026.
KOREA | Haedong Yonggung Temple in Busan
Autumn 2024. Ten years after my first trip to Seoul in 2014, I am returning to the Republic of Korea, better known as South Korea. Not solo this time, but with Oriol, who has never been to Korea. On the itinerary: flying with Qatar Airways to Incheon via Doha, the capital Seoul, the historic city…
Tourism Flanders to tackle illegal Airbnb accommodations amidst housing shortage reality
Holiday accommodations will soon need to submit a conformity certificate from their local council before they can be recognized by Tourism Flanders (Toerisme Vlaanderen). The Flemish Government is strengthening its oversight in a bid to reduce the number of illegal short-term rentals, which includes a growing number of Airbnb accomodations, the world’s favourite tourism villain…
BUSAN | Gamcheon Culture Village
Autumn 2024. Ten years after my first trip to Seoul in 2014, I am returning to the Republic of Korea, better known as South Korea. Not solo this time, but with Oriol, who has never been to Korea. On the itinerary: flying with Qatar Airways to Incheon via Doha, the capital Seoul, the historic city…
Protests against overtourism take to the streets in southern Europe
Protests against mass tourism swept across southern Europe over the weekend as locals raised their voices against its growing impact on their cities’ livability, their rents and their way of life.