Overtourism: Too much of a good thing?

We are bombarded, lured, or both, as hotels, airlines, social media influencers, cruise companies, and our own friends curate, post and tempt us to travel. What's often cropped out are the crowds and long lines – the frustrations that can come with vacationing today, or living in a vacation destination. "Where we see neighborhoods starting to serve tourists more than residents, that's where we start to see problems," said Paris-based writer Paige McClanahan. "And that's where we start to see pushbacks, like we've seen some anti-tourism protests in places like Barcelona ." McClanahan, who has covered travel and tourism for decades, says tourism is a huge economic force. "Globally, tourism is 10% of the global economy," she said. "It's about one in 10 jobs around the world." Correspondent Seth Doane with journalist Paige McClanahan outside the Louvre Museum in Paris. CBS News In her book, "The New Tourist," McClanahan traces how guidebooks, low-cost airlines, and now social media are fueling a surge in travel. In 1950, there were 25 million tourist arrivals around the world. Today there's more than 1.5 billion . One place on many tourists' checklists: The Louvre in Paris. It's the world's most-visited museum. "It's obviously an iconic spot," McClanahan said. "It's also a spot that really epitomizes some of the pressures that we've been talking about." In June 2025, Louvre employees went on strike because of its inability to cope with the crowds. …