The March 2026 report on hidden destinations ruined by viral tourism found that Nara, Japan is experiencing the biggest influx of visitors. A new study by the digital entertainment platform JB.com shows which travel regions are struggling with overtourism driven by videos on TikTok and Instagram. If you’ve been planning to visit any of these areas, you might want to think again.
- Nara, Japan, tops the list of hidden gems ruined by social media, with online searches for it jumping 568% in the last three years.
- Chiang Mai went from a peaceful Thai retreat to a digital nomad hotspot, drawing 12 million visitors annually after becoming Instagram’s favorite coworking place.
- Hikers now crowd the trails of Portuguese island Madeira after its sunset photos went viral, pushing tourist numbers to nearly 13 million.
The research looked at how social media affects lesser-known destinations by tracking three tourism and social media factors. They included how many times places were tagged in Instagram posts, how much online search interest in them grew over a three-year period, and how many tourists actually visit them each year.
Places were ranked by whether their visitor numbers outpaced what their infrastructure can handle. The study focused on spots that weren’t famous tourist cities before but suddenly got popular because of viral videos.
Here’s a look at the top 10 hidden destinations being ruined by tourist influx:
| Destination | Instagram # | Search Spike | Average number of tourist visiting |
| Nara, Japan | 3.5M | 567.93% | 14.9million |
| Chiang Mai, Thailand | 8.2M | 56.60% | 12million |
| Bologna, Italy | 9.2M | 62.68% | 11million |
| Albufeira, Portugal | 1M | 171.72% | 4million |
| Kotor, Montenegro | 1.4M | 165.73% | 812K |
| Madeira, Portugal | 45.7K | 12.15% | 12.8million |
| Puglia, Italy | 16.1M | 32.39% | 6,7million |
| Takayama, Japan | 487K | 86.29% | 4.8million |
| Busan, South Korea | 5.1M | 36.02% | 3.6million |
| Hallstatt, Austria | 980K | 77.93% | 1million |
You can access the complete research findings here.
1. Nara, Japan
- Instagram hashtags: 3.5 million
- Search spike: 568% increase (2023-2026)
- Annual tourists: 14.9 million
- Impact: Monthly searches jumped from 798K to 5.3 million
Nara now faces the biggest tourist influx due to its social media popularity. Online searches for the Japanese city jumped by 568% over three years, going from under 800K monthly lookups to over 5.3 million, especially after the free-roaming deer videos spread across TikTok. With 3.5M Instagram posts also depicting these scenes, Nara now receives nearly 15 million visitors every year, losing its status as a quiet alternative to Kyoto.
2. Chiang Mai, Thailand
Chiang Mai comes second after transforming from a meditation retreat into a digital nomad destination. The northern Thai city appears in 8.2 million Instagram posts, mostly showing coworking cafes and mountain sunsets. As a result, more and more remote workers started looking it up, with online searches for it up 57% over a three-year period. Chiang Mai now hosts around 12 million tourists every year.
3. Bologna, Italy
Bologna ranks third with 9+ million Instagram pictures and videos, driving too many tourists to the city lately. The medieval town wasn’t built to handle 11 million annual visitors, but that’s exactly how many people now show up after seeing photos of its terracotta rooftops and pasta-making classes. Online interest in the city grew 63% in just three years, with the number of tourists considering visiting the town rising to 4 million people.
4. Albufeira, Portugal
Albufeira is also struggling with viral tourism despite being a small coastal town. Monthly searches for it more than doubled in just three years, jumping 172% from under 2 million to over 5 million lookups. With 1 million Instagram posts making it even more attractive for tourists, this seaside city in the Algarve region now receives 4 million tourists every year, far beyond what its beaches and infrastructure were designed for.
5. Kotor, Montenegro
Kotor rounds out the top five cities facing tourist overflow due to social media attention. The Balkan destination has become viral on IG, with visitors posting nearly 1.5 million photos from this Adriatic town. The search interest increased just as much, up 166% in three years. And despite having just 812K annual visitors for now, this is still overwhelming for a place with narrow cobblestone streets that were not designed for tour crowds.
The CEO of JB.com commented on the study: “Viral tourism is never good, especially for small towns. The infrastructure, like the sewage system, for example, is never designed for it. The roads can’t handle it. And locals get priced out as Airbnbs replace long-term rentals.
Even Barcelona struggled with this despite being a major city. Imagine what it does to a small Japanese city. That’s why we’re seeing more places add tourist taxes now. A few dollars per night won’t stop anyone from visiting, but it gives the city council funds to build infrastructure and catch up with tourist influx.”
Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.
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