Terrorism pushed tourists away from Omm El Donia. Can European xenophobia bring them back? Chronic overcrowding in some of Europe’s beloved tourism hotspots is fuelling an angry backlash, according to Reuters. From Barcelona to Rome, the backlash has ranged from graffiti telling tourists to “Get Out” to more overt acts of physical intimidation, such as protests and rather violent Project Mayhem-style pranks. Naturally, municipal governments in Italy, the Vatican, Spain, and Croatia have begun to take notice and are considering policies that would restrict activities by tourists (dubbed everything from invaders to terrorists by locals) and limit their presence in a number of historic landmarks. This despite visitors to Spain jumping 12% in 1H2017, hotel stays up 4.8% in Italy, and a 10.5% m-o-m jump in July in Croatia.

It’s their loss, as the tourism increases came on the back of a decline in arrivals in Mediterranean destinations such as Egypt and Tunisia in the past two years as terrorism spiked. With tourism figures steadily making a comeback in Egypt and the security situation stable, Europe’s loss could be our gain. Time for a new tourism promotion campaign, ladies and gentlemen?