Overview
- Aired on September 9, the ZDF report collates evidence that crowding, noise, litter and water stress in popular destinations have exceeded local tolerance.
- Mallorca is cited with roughly 13.5–14 million annual visitors and €22.4 billion in 2024 tourism revenue, alongside housing pressures pushing workers into trailers and informal settlements.
- In Venice’s historic center, about 48,000 residents now live alongside roughly 55,000 guest beds, while cruise restrictions cut ship passengers from 1.6 million in 2019 to around 500,000 in 2024.
- Resource disparities are emphasized with a cited comparison of about 60 liters of daily water use for locals versus roughly 3,000 liters for a luxury tourist.
- The film notes that about 95% of tourists visit 5% of places and points to Maya Bay in Thailand, where strict visitor caps and a swim ban enabled coral and shark recovery.