In case you're not a social media addict, 'quiet dumping' is now a thing.

Quiet dumping is when your partner stops putting any effort into your relationship, hoping you'll break up without any overt "we're over" talk.

See also: Is social media making us worse travellers?

Speaking of which: once warm and welcoming, Europe is now quiet quitting its relationship with tourists and appears to be going on a journey to "find itself" (or rather: a higher quality of visitor).

Examples abound, from Spain, Italy and France, to even the U.K and Amsterdam. Here's twelve of them. 

1. Banning thongs

When Cinque Terre introduced fines for thongs and flip flops, as an Aussie, I couldn't help but take it personally. With fines between 50 euros (A$81.59) and 2500 euros (A$4079) for wearing inappropriate footwear on the town's mountain pathways, this rule is a bit like your partner asking: "have you ever thought we should take a break?"

2. Introducing a $1244 fine for peeing in the sea

Sorry to piss on your parade, but did you know that Vigo, a small town in Northern Spain, passed legislation banning piddling in the ocean, along with using soap and shampoos or washing cooking utensils?

3. Forcing you to order a drink in the UK

In Sidmouth, Devon, someone I know was recently thrown out of a pub, not for drunkenness, but for not ordering a drink fast enough. It turns out if you drop in to watch a couple of minutes of a football game, if you don't order a drink straight away (and have a terse exchange with the agressive bar keep, who is insistent on you ordering one straight away) you may be asked to leave. 

4. Introducing a visa waiver

Next year, Aussies can wave goodbye to visa-less travel to Europe: from 2025, visitors from 50+ nations, including Australia and New Zealand, will require an ETIAS to enter any of the Schengen area countries.

ETIAS visa waivers are valid for short-term stays (up to 90 days) and for business or leisure purposes. Once approved, an ETIAS can be used for up to three years or until your passport expires.

The ETIAS processing fee will be €7 (or approximately A$11). 

5. Selfie bans

Portofino crushed the pouts of aspiring selfie takers worldwide with the introduction of its "no waiting zones" rule, designed to stop selfie taking tourists jamming up walkways, which remains in effect during the summer months in certain parts of the photogenic Italian town, which juts out into the Ligurian sea, from morning until 6pm.

6. Milan mulling over a gelato ban

Although backlash has led Milan to backpedal on this decision, Marco Granelli, the deputy mayor for public security, recently proposed banning the sale of takeaway food after midnight in the city’s popular nightlife districts to help residents sleep. 

7. "Tourist Go Home" signs in Barcelona

Although this isn't a new phenomenon, it certainly adds to the feeling that Europe has been wanting to break up with us for a long time. 

Picture: Reddit

8. Venice banning large cruise ships

This decision, which was taken in 2021, was made over the environmental impact huge cruise liners were having on the city, from sediment to erosion. Venice has also, more recently, introduced a tax for overnight visitors and an $8 charge for day trippers in an effort to raise funds to help cope with the massive volumes of tourists that pass through it, dwarfing the local popular, every summer.

9. Massive fines for making your own coffee

As two German backpackers found out the hard way in 2019, you can face massive fines for breaking public order offenses in Venice, too, with picnicing at certain sites and not wearing a shirt in public spaces both on the hit list. 

10. Mallorcan restaurants banning drunken tourists 

In 2022, a restaurant group in Mallorca declared war on boob tube tops and football shirts as well as swimwear and novelty clothes bought from street sellers in an attempt to rid their premises of drunken tourists (aka, Brits). 

11. Hotel price hikes

Not only are attractions like the Eiffel Tower putting their prices up in 2024, but many major European cities are tipped to see their room rates go up by 10% in 2024, the likes of Hotel Monitor have predicted (as reported by CNN Travel).

12. Amsterdam asking bucks parties to tone it down

In 2023 Amsterdam launched a campaign warning young British men not to come there to use drugs or alcohol, or else risk being arrested. It has since credited the campaign with a decline of "nuisance tourism"

See also: 5 words that will make you a better traveller