A view of Rome’s Trevi Fountain in May 2025.
Photographer: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe World Is Drowning in Tourists. Who Should Pay the Price?
I’m the problem, it’s me.
Last summer a French tabloid sting operation uncovered that Americans (or at least journalists posing as Americans) were being charged up to 50% more than Parisians in some of the city’s most touristy cafes.
It was an affront to those who believe in a tourist’s inalienable right to live like a local. For decades, the biggest trend in travel has been to discover wondrous, affordable places that feel like a secret — even if you heard about them from guidebooks, Anthony Bourdain or TikTok. But Parisians, who spent the summer of 2025 protesting the “Disneyfication” of their city, seemed to shrug.