THIS VIDEO shows the shocking scenes as thousands of tourists swamped the crowded streets a small Italian town.
Clips shared widely on social media show crowds bearing down on the narrow streets of Sirmione, which sits on the beautiful shores of Lake Garda.
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The picturesque spot has long been a popular sightseeing destination, featuring a stunning 13th century castle.
But the May Day bank holiday weekend saw its streets overwhelmed with tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the historic town.
Footage of the chaos shows cars brought to a near standstill in the seemingly endless throng.
One X user sharing the video posted: “These shocking images are from Sirmione, on Lake Garda, Italy this weekend.
“Overrun by tourists — chaos, gridlock, and hours of waiting.
“A crisis that must be urgently addressed and regulated.
“It damages our heritage and turns the experience into a negative one.”
Tourists reportedly faced waits of up to 40 minutes just to get through the gates of Sirmione’s historic town centre.
Local authorities estimate that some 75,000 people visited the tourist hot spot over the May Day holiday weekend.
The number of visitors dwarfed Sirmione’s resident population, which sits at just over 8,000 people.
Another X user commented: “Went to Sirmione? Posted the selfie? Cool, now what?
“Overtourism is what happens when presence is confused with existence. Fast, loud, empty.
“Like fast fashion—disposable and harmful. Travel less, mean more.”
Antitourism across Europe
Disquiet over the impacts of the numbers of tourists has been growing across Europe in recent years.
Authorities across Europe have started to take drastic measures to curb the impacts of overtourism, including limiting visitor numbers and imposing tourist taxes.
Destinations in Italy and Greece have floated introducing entry fees on visitors in a drive to ease the worst effects of high numbers.
Often, residents have taken matters into their own hands with public demonstrations of outrage at the scale of mass tourism.
Spain has seen particularly intense backlash, with protesters taking to the streets of Barcelona and the Canary Islands to voice their anger.
Greece has also seen protests against high visitor numbers, with workers in the industry appealing for better wages and conditions.
Sirmione is far from the only popular travel destination in Europe to face growing concerns of overtourism.
A 2024 YouGov poll found that nearly one in three Spaniards think their local area gets too many international tourists.
While a lot of European economies rely heavily on tourism, many residents have grown disgruntled over the sheer volume of visitors on their streets.
The strain overtourism has placed on the infrastructure of numerous destinations has led to an increasingly visible backlash.
Some European streets have been adorned with furious anti-tourist graffiti.
Several popular holiday spots in Spain – including Barcelona, the Canary Islands and Palma de Mallorca – have seen recent protests decrying the impacts of mass tourism.
Demonstrators argue that overtourism has adversely impacted residents’ quality of life these places, driving up the cost of living and housing.
Venice, another perennially popular tourist destination, has taken the unprecedented measure of charging visitors an entrance fee of €5.
Greece has also floated plans to charge cruise passengers a €20 levy to visit the islands of Santorini and Mykonos.
The Croatian city of Dubrovnik has also seen a surge in visitors, which Euronews previously reported was Europe’s most overtouristed city relative to its population.