Summer is peak tourism time around the world. Schools and universities are out, and the northern hemisphere enjoys tourists from all over the world. With over 7.5 billion people in the world right now, popular tourist destinations like Paris, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and even at the top of Mount Everest have been increasingly complaining about over tourism.
The Louvre in Paris has always been at the tops of every travellers dream bucket list. It’s usually pretty easy to get into the famous museum. You buy a ticket online, show up at your alotted time and enter throught the famous glass pyramid in the square. But easy is not how some tourists would decribe it right now.
After queing up for hours, visitors were left with just a minute to take in Da Vinci’s most prized painting.
This is how crowded the Louvre was on a random Monday afternoon last year. For context. pic.twitter.com/t3qRHpoBbd
— Rebecca Fontana (@RebeccaEFontana) June 18, 2018
Musée du Louvre is the most famous museum in the world!
How to avoid seeing the Mona Lisa with 500 of your new best friends?
Avoid the incredibly crowded pyramid entrance & buy your ticket beforehand. It's open every day 9AM-6PM. #louvremuseum #mlt #paris #museelouvre pic.twitter.com/gXWNZwQ8QB
— mcneillluxurytravel (@mcneillluxetrav) August 2, 2019
According to The Guardian, “Now visitors say museum staff are giving them barely a minute to take a selfie in front of the painting before ushering them along. They complain of “total disorganisation” and “Louvre chaos”.”
To better handle the chaos, the Louvre is recommending that visitors pre-book their tickets online.
“Reservations smooth the entry for the public throughout the week,” said Vincent Pomarede, the deputy general administrator of the Louvre.
“Until now a reservation system has not been obligatory (but) we will put in place an obligatory reservations system, as many other museums have done, and, by the end of the year, all visitors will have to reserve,” he told AFP.
It's sad to say but the Louvre has been choked by its own success. Simply too crowded. I would not recommend a visit.
Paris' overcrowded Louvre to make reservations compulsoryhttps://t.co/7dtkrDKSzL
— Frank Savaglio (@franksavaglio) August 4, 2019
In May this year, workers complained of overcrowding at the famous museum and walked out refusing to work on the planned renovations. Tourists were also denied entry.
Seeing how “overtourism” was shortlisted as one of the Oxford Dictionary’s Words of the Year, this problem is not going to go away any time soon.
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