The authorities on Ile-de-Brehat have put in place a tourism quota as part of measures to tackle overtourism on the island off the coast of Brittany in north-west France
A picturesque French island has taken a bold step to curb the effects of overtourism, which has been causing uproar across Europe.
In an unprecedented move, Ile-de-Brehat will enforce a tourism cap, limiting the number of visitors to 4,700 between 08.30am and 2.30pm from this week until August 23.
This quota includes holidaymakers but exempts workers, second homeowners, and locals of the idyllic retreat near Brittany’s coast. Officials have clarified that the weekend is exempt from the new rule, insisting the aim isn’t to deter tourists but to enhance their visit.
Olivier Carre, the mayor, told Agence France-Presse: “We’re not actually trying to stop people coming just to make sure they have a better time when they do.” Carre also noted that while the local authorities have set the quota, it falls to the ferry operators to implement it.
Delving into the rationale behind the specific visitor limit, Carre continued: “Once you reach or pass that level, nothing works there’s nowhere for people to park at the ferry terminal…not enough seats on the boat, and all the restaurants on the island are full, the hire bikes run out, the cycle paths are rammed.”
The decision to impose a tourist quota on Ile-de-Brehat is the latest move in Europe’s ongoing battle against overtourism.
Majorca, one of the Balearic islands, has been a focal point for anti-tourism sentiment, with thousands taking to the streets to voice their concerns about the impact of tourism on their communities.
Just this week, another protest took place on the island, with over 100 groups participating in the demonstration in Palma.
The organisers described the march as a protest “against mass tourism and a process of touristification that suffocates us, condemns us to impoverishment and the continued precariousness of our lives, and an irreversible degradation of the territory and the natural and cultural heritage of the islands”.
According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, they expressed their hope that the march would be “to be a turning point and the start of continuous mobilisation on the streets, in neighbourhoods, towns and villages, workplaces, educational centres, the agricultural sector in the fight for housing”.
