Overtourism concerns have officials in Paris eyeing a ban on tourist buses in the City of Lights’ crowded city center, according to the U.K.’s Independent.
The city’s deputy mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire told French newspaper, Le Parisien, that “buses are no longer welcome in the very heart of the city.”
MORE Impacting Travel
“Tourists can do like everyone else does and switch to environmentally-friendly mobility options or take public transport. We need change,” added Gregoire, who encouraged guides to conduct their tours by bike or on foot.
The new legislation would likely apply to hop-on, hop-off buses traveling between major attractions as well as international tourist coaches.
E-scooters have also become an issue in Paris as Mayor Anne Hidalgo recently unveiled plans to place a cap on the number of scooters available throughout the city, cut down on the number of operators and limit speeds in areas with large numbers of tourists to prevent injuries.
France is the most visited country in the world, hosting nearly 90 million tourists in 2018, with a whopping 50 million descending on Paris.
Recent data from Hipmunk found that the French capital is the most popular destination for Labor Day weekend 2019. However, airfare to Paris for the unofficial end of summer is down significantly from last year.