A TikToker went viral for calling Europe 'Disneyland for Americans.' To be honest, he might have a point.
The backlash against overtourism has swept across Europe in recent months as some locals say their cities have become unliveable.
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- A TikToker said Europe is becoming like Disney World for Americans in a recent video.
- Residents of tourist hot spots in Europe who have protested mass tourism may also agree.
- Some locals in Venice and Barcelona have protested against their cities becoming overrun with tourists.
A TikToker has racked up nearly a million views in a recent video that explained how Europe is becoming a hotbed for American tourists.
"I've seen a lot of news about how local Europeans are mad that tourists are just ruining their cities," US-based comedian Dan Rosen said in the TikTok video. "You guys just have to accept at this point that you're our Disney World now."
He's referring to the backlash against overtourism that has swept across Europe in recent months. And he's not wrong that some European cities are being treated solely as tourist attractions rather than as people's homes.
Notably, the recent protests in Barcelona saw protesters squirting water guns at tourists sitting outside restaurants and bars in the city while chanting, "Go home!"
Some Barcelona residents have become increasingly frustrated with mass tourism, which they blame for skyrocketing rent prices and the city becoming "unliveable."
Other European cities are facing similar problems.
Tourist hot spots like Venice and Lake Como in Italy and picturesque towns in Switzerland have all considered or trialed tourist fees to curb the number of visitors.
Meanwhile, in other cities, people are being fined for taking selfies in certain areas and prevented from sitting and eating in some public places.
However, the TikToker wasn't particularly sympathetic to the plight of tourist-ridden European cities.
"You had your fun colonizing the world, pillaging and extracting wealth to make your nice little piazzas and palaces," he said.
"Now you need to accept that you're just museum cities…you're our playground," he added.
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Some locals in Venice have echoed a similar sentiment to Rosen, protesting the €5 ($5.40) trial fee for day-trippers earlier this year.
They objected to their hometown being treated solely like a tourist attraction. One opponent to the measure said that Venice was "becoming a museum, a theme park," Reuters reported.
In the video, Rosen also criticized Europe for dining out on its history and cured meats to draw tourists in without producing anything new.
But tourists really can't get enough of what Europe has to offer.
Europe's tourism industry saw a year-on-year increase of 12% in foreign arrivals in the second quarter of 2024, according to a report by the European Travel Commission.
The concerns of frustrated locals may be overweighed by the lucrative nature of the tourism industry. The ETC projects visitors will spend €800.5 billion ($870 billion) in Europe this year, up over 13.7% from last year.
"It's ok you had a good run, time to accept your fate Europe," the TikToker captioned the video.