- The 2010s saw global tourism reach record numbers— including in North America — according to The Guardian.
- Attractions like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls have long been popular, but as increasing numbers of people visit, National Geographic reports there are serious concerns for their future.
- A number of locations have also achieved popularity thanks to pop culture, such as the town of Forks, Washington due to "Twilight," and a set of stairs in New York City thanks to "The Joker."
- Here are 24 destinations in North America that are being loved a bit too much.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
New York City has always been a draw. But now even ordinary things like staircases are drawing crowds, thanks to movies like "Joker."
As previously reported by Insider, not everyone is happy about the large numbers of tourists stopping to pose for pictures on a stairway that many Bronx locals use daily. Things have even gotten testy at times: this past October, someone was filmed throwing eggs at people taking pictures at the stairway.
Another destination that's struggled with crowds following a pop culture moment is Forks, Washington — where the "Twilight" books and films are set.
The last of the "Twilight" films came out in 2012 (and the last of the books written by Stephenie Meyer long before then), but the small Washington town of Forks still regularly sees visitors from around the world drawn by the supernatural romance series — even though the movies were actually filmed in Oregon and Canada.
Vancouver has become a hotbed for moviemaking. And that has made it a hot destination.
Movies tend to attract tourists — and Vancouver, the second-largest city in Canada, is no exception. Stunning outdoor scenery, a rich array of cultural activities, great nightlife, a burgeoning food scene; the city seems to have it all. The only thing is that a lot of other people seem to know this, too. And hosting a Winter Olympics in 2010 has only added to the popularity.
It might not be hot in southern Alaska, but it is very popular with tourists — straining its delicate ecosystem.
The temperate rainforests of the Tongass National Forest in southern Alaska are unlike almost anywhere else, home to large populations of bears, deer, whales, and more. Many of the small towns nestled among the waterways of the Alaska Marine Highway are also largely dependent on tourism, reports NPR. However, such a unique environment means a delicate balance needs to be struck between keeping communities afloat and protecting native species.
The pigs of Big Major Cay Island in the Bahamas are undeniably cute — but tourists feeding them too many treats is killing them.
Big Major Cay Island's seriously adorable pigs have been dying in large numbers because tourists have been feeding them on the beach, leading to the pigs eating too much sand.
Some tourists have even been giving the pigs alcohol and trying to ride on their backs.
Hanauma Bay, Hawaii, is also struggling with the effects tourism is having on the environment.
According to Buzzfeed, one study found chemicals common in sunscreens can poison coral reefs — and in Hanauma Bay, scientists found about 2,600 average daily visitors had left a whopping 412 pounds of sunscreen in the ocean. Hawaii has now banned the sale of sunscreen that contains oxybenzone and octinoxate — two chemicals that can harm coral.
Cabo San Lucas in Mexico is a tropical locale that's long been a tourist draw — and the effects are adding up.
Cabo is incredibly popular with American tourists. To help combat this, Baja California Sur, the Mexican state where the resort city is located, has introduced a tourist tax, as reported by The Telegraph. The current tax is 350 pesos (about $18.50) per person.
The effects of overtourism are also adding up on Cancún's beaches.
Cancún and partying are synonymous with each other in the minds of many, especially Americans. However, in addition to the hordes of holidaymakers, foul-smelling algae and climate change have become serious concerns.
The Grand Canyon is awe-inspiring. But a crush of tourists is having consequences — some of them deadly.
Tourists getting too close to the edge have fallen over and died several times in the past year alone. And they are continuing to get dangerously close to the edge, despite the deaths.
Tourism has also had deadly consequences at Niagara Falls.
One of the most-visited attractions in North America, deaths do happen when people go over the side of Niagara Falls. But this past July, a man who plunged down the falls miraculously survived.
Coachella has become a pop culture phenomenon. A very popular one.
The world's biggest stars, like Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift, converge every year on California's Coachella Valley for the annual music festival. And more people than ever before want to be there to take it all in and document it on social media, with 99,000 people attending each day in 2019. And this is all despite weekend tickets costing upwards of $429.
So, too has South by Southwest — changing the culture of Austin, Texas dramatically.
Austin, Texas, has a more laid-back culture than the rest of the state. It's a culture that's changing, too, thanks to an influx of new residents, tech companies like Google and Apple establishing themselves, and events like South by Southwest (SXSW).
Not everyone is happy about that, with The Guardian reporting that "residents famously despise the festival, and their grumbles are getting louder."
Some people argue that Burning Man is now burned out.
As ever-increasing numbers of celebrities and the ultra-wealthy make their way to the Nevada desert each year for Burning Man, there are serious concerns commercialization is taking over the famed festival originally meant to be about anything but that.
Some people are fighting back to return Burning Man to its roots — for the 2019 edition, a $100,000-a-ticket camp favored by influencers was banned, after intense backlash from fellow attendees.
Others might argue Portland, Oregon is "over"— just like the TV series "Portlandia."
The culture of Portland, Oregon is not like it's depicted in "Portlandia"— a TV show which, it should be noted, ended in early 2018. For one, if you're keen to sample the famous confectionaries at Voodoo Doughnut, prepare to stand in line — and, it should be noted, Voodoo Doughnut is far more popular among tourists than locals.
Thanks to "Star Wars," Disneyland and Disney World have reached record heights of popularity — and crowding.
While Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland and Disney World is probably the closest any of us will get to traveling to a galaxy far, far away, some have criticized it for being too heavily-focused on shopping— and expensive.
The same goes for Universal Studios, thanks to "Harry Potter."
People like Harry Potter. People also like Universal Studios. Combine the two and you get an attraction that's pretty popular — though, as Insider's Kirsten Acuna writes while ranking each ride from worst to best, some are definitely superior to others.
Wyoming has a lot of space. But crowds have been converging on a single barn near Jackson Hole.
The T.A. Moulton Barn has been called the most photographed barn in America, according to Atlas Obscura. Business Insider's Katie Warren visited in 2019— and found she was far from alone, despite the rather rural location, thanks to its popularity with Instagrammers, influencers, and tourists.
New Orleans' French Quarter was seemingly made for Instagram. And that means it's more popular than ever.
New Orleans is always packed during Mardi Gras, and really much of the year. Good luck getting a table to try some local gumbo or Cajun cooking without a reservation.
Spring Break is still a huge deal at US colleges, and places like Miami Beach, Florida are struggling with the throngs more than ever.
Hitting the beach for Spring Break is a rite of passage for many college students. Condolences to anyone taking their family someplace like Miami Beach, South Padre Island, during the end of March and early April and expecting some level of personal space.
Much has been made of the changes in San Francisco and the Bay Area, which have been drawing a large number of tourists.
San Francisco has changed a lot in the past 10 years. According to Business Insider's Aria Bendix, the changes, including an escalating homelessness crisis, and increasingly dirty sidewalks, are eye-opening.
It's a similar story in nearby Napa Valley and the famous wine country.
The crowds in Napa Valley are typically older than you might find in, say, Cabo or Cancún. And with millions of people visiting every year, it might pay to do a bit of planning before visiting.
Cuba had a moment in the mid-2010s with the easing of US sanctions. The sanctions are back — but tourism remains robust.
There were concerns in the middle of the last decade that Cuba's infrastructure would not be able to keep up with an influx of American tourists as a result of the easing of US government sanctions restricting travel to the island nation. When Harrison Jacobs visited in 2016, he found the country to be more expensive than he expected, noting "nothing costs what it should."
Maho Beach in the Caribbean is famous for the planes that fly just above it — though in recent years, safety concerns have become more evident.
The images of massive jet planes flying so low over tropical Maho Beach that it seems people can jump up and almost touch them are stunning. However, being so close to the planes taking off and landing at the nearby airport on the island of Saint Martin can be deadly — The Guardian reports that in 2017, a New Zealand woman was killed when she was blown back by a jet blast and hit her head.
Yellowstone is beautiful — and deadly.
Soaring tourism numbers have posed problems at Yellowstone. More people also means it's harder for officials to keep an eye on everyone to help keep them safe. Case in point: in 2016, a man from Oregon fell into a hot spring and was dissolved — and it's more common than you might think.
Read more:
22 destinations that were ruined by tourists over the past decade
40 stunning places to visit in 2020 before they become packed with tourists
100 under-the-radar islands everyone should visit in their lifetime
100 under-the-radar beaches everyone should visit in their lifetime
10 flight attendants reveal the most disappointing part of their job