Tourism's Benefits Outweigh Downsides for European Residents

European residents broadly view tourism as a net positive, according to the MMGY Resident Sentiment Index Survey 2026. Cultural and leisure offerings drew the strongest endorsement, with 71% seeing tourism's effect as positive against just 6% negative, while the local economy and historical heritage preservation scored similarly well at 70% and 69% respectively. Sentiment turns considerably more mixed, though, when residents assess tourism's effect on their own immediate surroundings. Only 42% say it improves quality of life, with 20% calling it a negative, and cleanliness of public spaces is the one area where the gap narrows to near-parity: 37% positive, 29% negative. The pattern suggests residents are comfortable crediting tourism with broad economic and cultural value while holding it responsible for the wear they see on their streets and neighborhoods.