A month ago, many world media published footage of the thousands of protests in Mallorca - residents spoke out against mass tourism, which causes many difficulties for the local population . Spain is one of the most popular travel destinations, especially in the summer. But according to the statistics of the World Tourist Organization UN Tourism, it is only in second place in the rating of the most popular countries with about 85 million tourists a year.
And the number one target is France - not least thanks to the city of love, Paris, which for many is simply a must. Last year, the country was visited by 100 million guests from abroad. From there on, the USA, Italy, Turkey, Mexico and Great Britain are among the ten most visited countries.
Austria - the secret champion thanks to the Germans
Last year, the sights in Germany were visited by 34.8 million tourists, as a result of which it took eighth place. The last two of the ten are Greece and Austria. But if you compare the number of visitors to the number of local residents, Austria turns out to be the real leader in the ranking for 2023. According to the data, there were 3.4 tourists per one local resident. For comparison: in Spain this indicator is 1.8, in France - 1.5.
As a tourist destination, Austria owes its popularity largely to the Germans - last year there were 57 million overnight stays by Germans in the country. And Spain is the second most sought-after country among them.
The most popular city for tourists
The Austrian capital Vienna is logically the most interesting for tourists - both in summer and in winter. But the ranking of the cities with the largest number of tourists per person of the local population is led by Dubrovnik - with 27 tourists per one local person. This pearl of the Adriatic attracts with its architectural splendor and its historical charm. The series "Game of Thrones", part of which was filmed there, also contributed.
Among the cities by ratio of tourists to local population are also Venice, Florence, Reykjavik, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Porto, Dublin, Athens and Paris. In Paris, for example, there are seven tourists for every one resident.