Tourism has a constant impact on the environment and on society, taking these impacts into
consideration reveals that these are not always beneficial. Negative impacts include increased
pollution, inappropriate construction, conflicts between local society and tourists, crowding and
congestion. The objective of my research is to study coastal areas affected by overtourism in
southern European countries. By examining tourism in the European countries that received the
most international tourists in 2019, I illustrate the importance of 3S tourism (sea, sand, sun), the
mass of tourists it attracts, and its effects. The tourism of France, Spain and Italy, with their sunny sandy coasts, are presented by summarising data sets from various international databases.
I analyse the cases of some destinations from the three countries that are the main focus of the study, based on previously published articles. Coastal areas that have been associated with the
overtourism phenomenon by other authors are also presented.