Bruges, one of Belgium’s most popular tourist destinations, is combating overtourism by cracking down on Airbnb rentals and the number of cruise ships entering its port.
The city is popular amongst tourists from all over Europe due to its postcard-perfect scenery with cobbled streets, medieval buildings and networks of canals making it a popular option for day trippers and holidaymakers
It became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1998 and had a record number of visitors in 2023 with 8.3 million people visiting across the year.
This is in stark contrast to the small number of permanent residents in the city, with 2023 estimates putting the population at just 120,000.
Locals have had enough
Reports of the new measures came as Bruges Mayor Dirk De Fauw told the Brussels Times in August that residents have had enough of mass tourism.
“People have started indicating that there are just too many visitors,” he said “If we just let everyone do what they want, things will quickly go wrong.”
This has led to the city banning the construction of new hotels in its historic centre as well as barring permits for new holiday homes across the entire city from being issued.
De Fauw explained the aims of the reforms in an interview with The Brussels Times, saying: “We cannot and do not want to control access to the city, like Dubrovnik or Venice.”
These two popular cities recently introduced small fees to be paid by day-trippers.
Yet, the mayor explained: “We want to keep Bruges a city with activities beyond tourism.”
Restrictions across Europe
These plans follow a spate of popular European tourist destinations making similar rulings. Most notably, Barcelona has instituted a number of new regulations attempting to curb short-term Airbnb-style rentals in the city, and outlaw them by 2029.
It is hoped the new restrictions will help to restore balance between tourists and residents and stop local people being priced out of their own city.
The Italian Tourism Minister also revealed that the government is considering whether to bring in a new tax on hotel rooms across the country, potentially raising the extra levy to £25 per person, per night on the most expensive hotel rooms.
Curbing the numbers of ‘Day-trippers’
However the Airbnb ban alone will not help Bruges curb overtourism, and officials have looked to limit daytrippers visiting the city also by slashing the number of cruise ships that can dock at nearby Zeebrugge port.
In 2019, the local council ruled only five ships would be allowed to dock at the port, which has now been reduced to 2.
CEO of property ranking platform Otamiser and Bruges resident Bart-Jan Leyts said: “Bruges, much like Venice, is a city closely tied to its harbour, attracting a large number of day-trippers,”
He explained that the influx of tourists is hugely beneficial for Bruges’ economy but “places tremendous pressure on the city’s infrastructure and community.”
“Short visits contribute significantly to the phenomenon of overtourism, yet they are not directly connected to the availability of short-term rentals.”
Local authorities have also gone as far as removing adverts promoting tourism to the city at Brussels airport, hoping not to encourage further visitors.