Airbnb Data Says Flexible Search Tools Help Combat Overtourism

Airbnb said that the flexible search features it has rolled out since early 2021 have so far diverted bookings from destinations coping with overtourism and peak travel times, according to data it shared on Friday.

The short-term rental booking giant has increasingly offered search tools — see Skift's earlier coverage: "Airbnb’s Next Big Change: Search" — in response to evidence that many people don't have a destination or fixed dates in mind when they start researching trips.

Some of Airbnb's new data points from its first whitepaper on "sustainable tourism" (embedded below).

"In 2019, the top 10 most visited cities on Airbnb in the European Union — including Paris, Barcelona, and Rome