Town telling tourists to stay away in summer

It’s a location loved by A-listers including Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio – but the town wants tourists to stay away if they plan on coming in summer.

The French Riviera town of St Tropez has become synonymous with luxury, attracting A-listers, tourists and beach lovers alike in the masses.

But there is just one problem – it’s put a strain on local resources with officials urging travellers to either choose off-peak times or not come at all.

Located on the French Riviera halfway between Marseilles and Nice, the once quiet and quaint fishing village has transformed over the past few decades due to rising tourism, becoming a luxury haven for yachters and jet-setters.

St Tropez is suffering from over-tourism during the summer.

The rich and famous such as A-listers like Jay-Z, Beyonce, Katy Perry and Leonardo Di Caprio are drawn to its Provencal beauty, and tourists alike have fallen in love with the picturesque town.

Long popular with artists, the town attracted the international “jet set” in the 1960s, and today it still remains as one of the most-in demand locations with the area one of the most chic resorts in the world.

It’s a location loved by A-listers including Leonardo DiCaprio. Picture: Backgrid

As France is poised to remain the most visited country in 2025, attracting more than 93 million international travellers, according to Global Data, St Tropez alone attracts more than 80,000 visitors each day between July and August.

But the quaint town is battling problems of over-tourism.

Katy Perry also holidaying in the hotspot in July this year. Picture: Backgrid

The mayor of the former fishing village Sylvie Siri has launched a campaign called Secret St-Tropez, which is aimed at encouraging tourists to visit out-of-season

“Don’t come in the summer,” Ms Siri told the BBC.

“Come in spring when it’s like the St Tropez of our childhoods.”

One advantage of visiting off season is the opportunity to experience the town as it once was, where according to the publication, traditional fishing boats deliver the catch, wisteria blossoms foreshadow the arrival of bougainvillea and jetties point to the clear blue sea (which is devoid of the many speedboats, swimmers and dinghies that crowd it each summer).

The town is trying to encourage tourists to visit during off-peak times to combat over-tourism.

“If you come in summer you’ll see the sun, the restaurants, the beach clubs … but that’s it,” local tour guide Rédérique Chagnon-Lecomte told the BBC.

She said they “don’t hate the high season” as it enables them to survive, but it’s “important to understand it’s just one part of the picture of St Tropez”.

Meanwhile, Clara Rondini, a member of the Rondini family of Tropézien sandal-makers who have lived and worked in St Tropez since 1927, said the town has lost its charm due to over-tourism.

Secret St Tropez is designed to promote the town as an out-of-season destination.

“It is becoming too much about money,” she told the publication.

While local restaurants, boutiques and other small shops thrive during peak tourist seasons, the viability of their existence hinges upon effectively managing overcrowding.

Saint Tropez mayor Sylvie Siri. Picture: Foc Kan/WireImage

According to local reports, the government is implementing sustainable tourism strategies, focusing on greener hotel classifications and enhanced public transport options to alleviate the effects of overcrowding.

Some large-scale actions are already in place such as outlawing all domestic flights to destinations reachable by train in less than two and a half hours.

This summer the government also trialled a €49 (A$80) monthly train pass for 16 to 27-year-olds, which covers unlimited travel on the TER regional rail network and intercity trains nationwide, but not the faster TGV services.

Overcrowding has also become an issue in Spain with thousands of anti-tourist protesters taking to the streets in April in Tenerife, demanding a freeze on holiday-makers.

The anti-tourist hordes filled a square in the capital brandishing banners including some that read “You enjoy we suffer” in English.