Overtourism Solutions: Unconventional Travel Strategies

For example, Kyoto’s newly introduced congestion prediction program provides guidance on the most appropriate days and times to visit major tourist attractions. The app ‘Smart Navi’ shows real-time congestion levels, and the ‘Hidden Gems’ initiative introduces six relatively quiet areas to prevent tourists from being concentrated at famous temples. ‘Hands Free Kyoto’ aims to reduce public transportation congestion by providing luggage transportation and storage services.

Kosaku Ono, manager of the Kyoto City Sustainable Tourism Promotion Department, said, “There is no universal solution to overtourism, but we will continue to promote various policies to ensure that visitors can enjoy a comfortable stay while protecting the daily lives of citizens.”

Travel agencies are also responding to overtourism. Inside Travel Group, a travel agency certified as a B Corp, intentionally shifted its Japan travel products to five regions with relatively few visitors: Toyama, Nagoya, Nagasaki, Aomori, and Yamaguchi. “Overtourism is a key issue threatening the future of the travel industry and is something the industry must address head-on,” said Tim Oakes, managing director of the company. “The five areas we chose are places that welcome visitors but do not want to overcrowd.”

The United States took a more direct fiscal approach. The National Park System, comprised of 433 parks spanning 85 million acres, is a key asset for U.S. tourism. However, as half of all national park visitors are concentrated in the top 25 parks, problems such as extreme congestion, long waiting lines, and increased waste are occurring.

Starting in 2026, the United States has decided to charge an additional fee of $100 (about 140,000 won) per person to foreign visitors at 11 popular national parks, including Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon. The annual pass ‘America the Beautiful’, which allows access to all U.S. federal resorts, costs $80 (120,000 won) for U.S. citizens, while foreigners are charged $250 (360,000 won).

This measure is in accordance with the Ministry of Interior’s administrative order directing an increase in usage fees for foreign non-residents. However, some point out that the waiting time at the entrance has actually become longer due to the nationality verification process.

Some industry officials in and around national parks do not believe these strategies are robust enough to address overcrowding. “It will be difficult to meaningfully address peak-season overtourism simply by increasing fares,” said Kevin Jackson, co-founder of EXP Journeys, which operates private travel services near Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Moab and Yosemite. “Demand for our major parks remains strong, and surcharges do not represent a significant portion of the total cost of the types of trips we organize.”

But he added that some international travelers may turn to lesser-known parks where the surcharge does not apply, such as Utah’s Canyonlands National Park.

Dulani Porter, vice president of Spark, a destination marketing (strategy that recognizes and promotes a specific region as a ‘product’) company, analyzed that there is a more fundamental structural problem behind this issue. “Pricing is not a fundamental measure of visitor management,” he said, explaining that crowding at attractions like Zion or Yosemite is largely determined by domestic travel patterns, academic calendars and limited road and parking capacity.

Porter also expressed concern about the impact the policy would have on “gateway cities” (border communities) near national parks. As foreign visitors account for an overwhelming proportion of the local tourism economy, it is analyzed that even a small amount of resistance can cause a chain of blows to the entire related industry, including hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies. “Overtourism is fundamentally a system problem, not simply a pricing problem,” he said.

Jamaica, on the other hand, is using incentives rather than regulations. The Caribbean island nation, which is struggling to attract tourists following the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in 2025, has come up with a creative plan to encourage visitors to travel during the off-season. Starting in March, the Jamaica Tourism Board, in collaboration with JetBlue and WeatherFrom, will provide rain compensation, including during hurricane season, for all Jamaican package packages booked through the end of November.

If weather conditions meet the “heavy rain” criteria, travelers who sign up for the service will automatically receive a refund while continuing their trip. This allows travelers to enjoy Jamaica’s fascinating indoor attractions, such as the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston or the rum tasting experience in Nassau Valley, even during the rain.

Jamie Perry, CEO of Paisley, which operates JetBlue Vacations, explained, “Through this partnership, customers can book trips to Jamaica with confidence at any time of the year, which leads to a more balanced distribution of seasonal visitor influx.” “By reducing the potential risks of off-season travel, we are building a win-win structure that provides a better experience for travelers and stable economic benefits for local communities.”

Mallorca, which has seen the most intense anti-tourism protests in Europe, is looking for a solution to its overcrowding problem in AI. Mallorca plans to integrate the AI-based platform into its new website later this year. The system uses real-time visitor data to guide users on the best times to visit popular attractions. At the same time, we offer lesser-known alternative itineraries, such as glass making, experiencing latra, a traditional weaving method, or visiting wineries and olive oil production areas. This is to encourage people to explore the deeper charms of Mallorca beyond the existing image of “beach and sun.”

Guillem Guinard, the recently appointed Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Mallorca Responsible Tourism Foundation, said, “Through the Mallorca Intelligent Destination Platform (PID), we have integrated transportation, accommodation, and resource information into a single platform. This not only improves the quality of travel by predicting visitor flows, but also enables more efficient policy decision-making.”

In addition to technical responses, the Mallorca Responsible Tourism Foundation is developing the ‘Ca Nostra (Our Home)’ campaign. The campaign encourages visitors and residents alike to consider Mallorca as their ‘home for a while’ and to pledge to protect its landscape, traditions and communities.

Copenhagen, Denmark, is an emerging popular tourist destination in Europe, with tourism growth expected to reach up to 24% by 2030. To prevent the harmful effects of overtourism in advance, Copenhagen is experimenting with behavioral incentives. ‘CopenPay’, introduced in 2024, is a program that allows visitors to “pay” for the experience by engaging in sustainable activities, such as collecting trash in a canal, kayaking, or visiting a museum by bicycle.

More than 30,000 visitors have participated in CopenPay to date, and bicycle rental rates have increased by 59% during the implementation period. “About half of the participants said they joined the program for a unique and differentiated experience,” said Ricke Holm Petersen, director of marketing, communications and behavioral strategy at Wonderful Copenhagen. In addition, 7 out of 10 participants appeared to be practicing the new habits they acquired through the campaign, such as using a bicycle or making separate waste a habit, even after returning to their home country.

This model has attracted interest from more than 100 tourist destinations around the world, and places such as Berlin and Normandy are introducing similar systems tailored to local conditions.

“Many participants agreed that every city needs a system like this,” Petersen said. “The paradigm of travel is changing. Travelers now want to leave their places better than when they arrived.”