I don’t know about you, but every time I scroll through Instagram there is another person filling my feed with Aperol spritzes shimmering against the backdrop of the Amalfi coast, enough gelato to have a meltdown over, and endless plates of carbonara photographed from angles that would make Michelangelo turn in his grave. 

But behind the humble location tags and aesthetic totally ‘unedited’ postcard snaps lies reality. Euro summer is not the dolce vita lifestyle everyone proclaims; it’s a season that risks hollowing out cultures and straining fragile environments.

Italy, more than anywhere, showed me this firsthand when I travelled abroad. I saw a beautiful culture becoming one that risks turning into a museum exhibit: preserved, but hollow.

Trending toward trouble

Nowadays, a large amount of over-tourism stems from social media, particularly Instagram and TikTok, which can turn any peaceful location into a viral, must-see destination overnight. 

The allure is clear, but what social media doesn’t show is that you might have to wrestle four American families, fifteen Australian influencers, and a buck’s party from London just to get a five-second glimpse of the “hidden gem” TikTok promised was a secret.

Monash University student Sophie Bosson describes Euro summer as “really harmful".

“There’s just a large majority of people that relies so heavily on social media and form so much of their identity there and I just think it’s the thing to do now to go and have a Euro summer trip,” Bosson says. 

What started as a luxury getaway has become a viral checklist fuelling overcrowded trattoria’s, pollution, and inflation. In Italy, the Data Appeal Company found 70 per cent of tourists come to only 1 per cent of the territory.  

As Limelight Arts Travels Director Dr Kathleen Olive said: “There are sites now that feel choked and difficult to access because people are there purely for a selfie.”

"The best experiences you have when you travel are when you put the phone away and you look, and you listen. I think a lot of what strikes you about a culture is the sound of it or the smell of it as well as what it looks like as you’re walking around,” she said.

Ironically, Olive suggests what is sold as ‘escapism’ is better understood as performative tourism bounded by digital trends.

We’re gondola miss you, Venice! 

Over-tourism is often framed as proof of a destination’s popularity, but realistically it’s a slow means of death. Wearing down fragile environments, clogging public transport, hiking up prices for locals, and allowing carbon emissions to soar, neighbourhoods begin to feel like theme parks. 

Indicating a recovery from pre-pandemic levels, the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism revealed an estimated 1.4 billion tourists travelled internationally in 2024, with 747 million international arrivals in Europe alone. On paper, this looks like a roaring success, but for many, recovery feels more like being overrun.

Bosson’s disappointment echoed what I saw in Venice: a city that feels less like a living, breathing culture and more like a backdrop for tourist performances. 

Bosson said she felt like she had “rose-coloured glasses on” before she saw Italy with her own eyes. “I just did not anticipate how busy it would be and how targeted it was for tourists, and I felt really detracted from the culture.”

The more people chasing the ‘authentic’ experience, the less authentic it becomes. 

Try telling a gondolier you just want to “soak in the atmosphere” without paying €80, and you’ll be soaked in canal water instead.

Speaking of gondoliers: if asked to picture Venice, then gondola rides, St Mark’s Basilica, canals, bridges, cobblestones probably come to mind. Now picture its people. Chances are, you can’t. 

Fewer than 50,000 locals still live in the city because tourism (particularly day-tripping) has conquered the land. 

My own travels were eye-opening. Venice has even introduced a €5 tourist fee for day-trippers during peak periods, as they bring little economic benefit while leaving a heavy strain on infrastructure. Markets brim with gondola keychains and limoncello magnets, while cruise ships loom over the lagoon. It’s still breathtaking, but locals are increasingly pushed into the background of their own city.

Don’t get me wrong, Venice was still a highlight of my trip. But what I saw there — cruise ships dwarfing palaces, souvenir stalls outnumbering locals — made me wonder if mass tourism is slowly hollowing Europe out.

As Bosson reminds us:

“It’s wonderful to travel but the best thing that travelling is learning about a new culture and understanding the country.” 

And it isn’t just culture at risk. The environment is paying the price too.

When holiday cheer meets environmental fear

Look, nobody wants to be the Grinch of their Euro-summer holiday, muttering about carbon footprints and €15 beach chairs while everyone else is double-parking limoncello and Aperol spritzes, and uploading the Cinque Terre.

But maybe the Grinch has a point.

If he is the voice of our annoyance, then the Lorax is the environmentalist in the corner, reminding us that he “speaks for the trees” (and probably the Venetian canals, Santorini cliffs and Amalfi lemon groves, too). We treat travel like a never-ending Christmas morning: consume now, think later, and get planning for next year!

Unlike Whoville however, there’s no redemption arc for these holiday spots once ruined. 

Sustainable travel isn’t a buzzkill trend; it’s the only way to ensure Santorini still exists for your grandkids to have genuine cultural exchange (and to post about, if they like!) and not a pile of rubble.

Empires fell when they forgot their limits. Tourists might do well to remember that before Amalfi becomes the next Atlantis.

The homework of holidaying

Bosson worries travellers believe they have a “sense of entitlement about travelling” and how “consequences of the community are never fully at the forefront of a tourist’s mind". 

The solution? Rethink the Euro-summer script. 

Think small: swap Amalfi for Lecce, Rome for Bologna. You might just save a euro or two! 

Stay longer: slow travel isn’t just for retirees, it’s richer for you and locals alike.

Consume consciously: family trattorias over tourist traps. 

As Dr Olive suggests, “We [Limelite Tours] might go to Venice in a peak season but will stay for more than seven days to really become a part of the place and quite consciously leave something in it.” 

And maybe the best advice of all: embrace imperfection. 

Forget the perfect post; eat the pasta anyway. 

Because maybe the real dolce vita isn’t found in a perfect photo, but in travelling lightly enough that the culture — and the locals — still have room to breathe.