At the same time as many countries in Europe are experiencing public protests against overtourism, a newly published survey by the United Nations' World Tourism Barometer has revealed the most popular hot spots for visitors across the continent so far this year.

In the first quarter, Europe welcomed 125 million international tourists, a rise of 5 percent compared to the same period in 2019, the last year before the effects of the pandemic began to be felt.

The period covered by these figures is the low season, compared to the busier summer period, and highlights some interesting changing trends in consumer demand, with Southern Mediterranean Europe, always hugely popular in summer, seeing a 2 percent increase in trade in the traditionally quieter time of year.

The biggest rises in tourist numbers among European Union countries in the first quarter were in Lithuania, up 21 percent, Malta, which saw a 19 percent rise, Latvia with 16 percent, Finland with 15 percent and Spain, with 6 percent. Sweden, Ireland and Luxembourg, however, all suffered double-digit declines in visitor numbers.

Global tourism is a significant driver of the economy in many countries across Europe, particularly places like Spain and Greece, so anything that threatens the tourist ecosystem remains a potential point of weakness.

Although figures for the start of the year, before the threat of global trade tariffs became a reality, are encouraging, major concerns remain about the situation for the months ahead. The three most significant worries and potentially damaging factors have been identified as a slowing of economic growth, rising travel costs and the impact of tariffs.

While increased off-peak prosperity may be good news for Europe's tourist economies, the challenges of overcrowding at more popular times of the year continue to provoke strong emotions across the continent.

Spain, in particular, has seen widespread protests against what many locals perceive as the needs of tourists being put ahead of those of residents, causing problems such as a housing shortage, as properties are made available for short-term holiday rental, rather than as homes.

The Italian city of Venice is one of many to have introduced a tourist tax, and some famous historical sites, such as the Acropolis in Greece, have put a cap on daily visitor numbers.

An article published on the Forbes website in May this year spoke of the prospect of Europe "heading for another perfect storm of overtourism" this summer, which may be a driving factor in the increase in off-peak tourism, as people seek to avoid the crowds, for a more enjoyable travel experience.

It mentioned how France, the world's most-visited country, with 72.4 million tourists in 2023, saw 80 percent of its tourists visiting just 20 percent of its sites, and how the authorities had even published pictures of long queues on social media, to encourage people to consider visiting other attractions instead.