Popular town 'on the brink' as hundreds of cruise ships bring tourists flooding in

A coastal town in Montenegro has been battling to manage its massive influx of tourism, creating overwhelming crowds and sparking fears about environmental damage.

The stunning town of Kotor sits on the Adriatic coast and boasts UNESCO World Heritage Site status. It's nestled near the limestone cliffs of Mt Loven and is famed for its twisting narrow streets and medieval buildings, including numerous Romanesque churches.

The town also appeared in the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale. Hundreds of vessels dock in the harbour daily, bringing many of Kotor's visitors. This has prompted demands to increase the bargain €1 (86p) charge that cruise ship passengers pay to access the town. In other travel stories, Spanish beach bars demand urgent action as they reveal cost of Brits staying away

Cruise ship visits to the destination have been climbing over the past decade, with the town seeing roughly 500 additional arrivals last year, reports the Express. On one day alone last August, 5,000 holidaymakers poured into the town from cruise ships. Kotor itself has just 23,000 residents. This is reportedly causing serious harm to the marine ecosystem.

According to the latest reports from the Statistical Office of Montenegro, over 2.6 million people visited the country in 2024. There were also a total of 15.5 million overnights, with 96.1% being foreigners mostly from Serbia, Russian Federation, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Germany, Ukraine and the UK.

The UN's GEF Adriatic Project states: "Although the population size increase [in Montenegro] is relatively low, the number of tourists drastically increases every year, which poses a significant burden on local sewage capacities and increases the costs of their construction and maintenance."

Milica Mandic, a scientific advisor at Montenegro's Institute of Marine Biology, expressed her concern: "Such a number of cruisers requires a study to determine the maximum environmental load."

There have been numerous protests across Europe over the past year as locals express their dissatisfaction with the massive influx of tourists in their cities and towns. Popular holiday destinations include Spain, France, and Italy. This had led many Brits to ditch them and opt for other places to spend their summers.

Local Kotor tourism director, Jovan Ristic, voiced his concerns: "The life of our neighbours is becoming increasingly difficult during the tourist season. All similar tourist destinations are working on reducing or selecting passenger ships and seriously collecting excursion fees."