Europe’s Tourist Hot Spots Suffer as Big-Spending Americans Stay Away

“An Italian orders a coffee, Americans order drinks and food and they are generous with tips.”

The 4.4 million Americans who traveled to Italy last year spent €5.5 billion ($6.2 billion), making them the highest per capita spenders

Travel and tourism account for 13% of the economy in Italy and 9% in France and Europe as a whole

There are some who bemoan mass-tourism and would like to see less of it. There are some locals who would rather have their hometowns for their own pleasures instead of being overrun by tourists. But these anecdotes and statistics can help explain why mass-tourism is here to stay. There is simply too much money and too many job opportunities in tourism, which cannot be replaced overnight by something else.

If one wants to curb over-tourism, a necessary part of the solution would be to figure out alternative opportunities for people dependent on tourism as well as a smooth transition plan to that alternative.