Every year, hordes of tourists flock to coastal spots across the country to enjoy the sea, sand and attractions. Few, however, experience the ramifications this can have on the lives of locals trying to live in the same area. 

Whitby is one example: the seaside town sees more than one million visitors annually, but for the 13,000 residents that call it home, tourism can bring serious challenges. 

The Mayor of Whitby, Sandra Turner, recently admitted it is 'extremely difficult' to live an ordinary life in the town. 

'We embrace tourism, we have no issue with that, but residents have got to be able to live their lives accordingly,' she said in a council meeting, The Scarborough News reports. 

It comes as discussions are being held around proposed parking changes in the area that would decrease the space reserved for locals. 

'It’s already extremely difficult in Whitby to live a normal life,' she said, adding the 'parking situation' could make things harder. 

A lack of parking space has been an issue in the area for some time, and tourists add to the pressures during busy peak seasons such as the summer. 

Now, plans include possibly adding more on-street-metres and reducing disc parking areas.

North Yorkshire Council said at a Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee meeting that the proposals were 'currently at a very early stage and no decisions have been made regarding the introduction of any parking measures'.

There has been research into the parking and traffic issues in the area, according to Councillor Liz Colling. 

'I hope you’ve taken on board that we need to live in this town and embrace our lives in this town and not just for tourism,' Ms Turner said at the meeting. 

Ms Turner told the Daily Mail: 'Whitby is extremely proud to be one of the country’s most popular visitor destinations and tourism is enormously important to our town and its economy. But Whitby is also a living, working community and we have to get the balance right.

'For people who live here, particularly those living in and around the town centre, something as ordinary as coming home from work, attending an appointment, going shopping, or carrying out everyday business can already be extremely difficult because of the pressure on parking.'

She urged for solutions to be made that 'can better accommodate residents, workers, businesses, and visitors, rather than simply making the limited parking already available within the town more restrictive'.

The Daily Mail approached North Yorkshire Council for comment. 

Holiday homes have also been an issue in the area and in 2024, furious locals accused staycationers of 'killing the community' after snapping up properties, preventing local families from getting their feet on the ladder.

Linda Wild, Whitby's former mayor, said at the time that the fishing port had reached breaking point.

She said: 'Where I live, 90 per cent of the neighbouring houses are holiday lets or second homes. Every Friday night, I can hear the rattle of suitcase wheels on the pavement.

'And I get it - Whitby's beautiful. I can stand outside my house and look over the harbour and it's glorious.

'Of course people want to come here. But our community is dying because the local population can't get a look in.'

But Whitby isn't alone with its struggles to balance tourism and everyday life; other beauty spots across the UK are grappling with the issue too. 

Bourton-on-the-Water, often dubbed the 'Venice of the Cotswolds' for the river that flows through its centre, is one of the UK's most prominent victims of overtourism.

Councillor Jon Wareing, who represents the village at Cotswold District Council, recently expressed his concern that the number of visitors has destroyed village life in the idyllic riverside spot.

Bourton-on-the-Water has just 4,000 residents – a number far outweighed by the number of tourists who visit the town each year, estimated to be around 300,000. 

The civic chief called for a 'coalition of the willing' to deal with the problems at hand arising from this discrepancy between tourists and locals.

In August, a 'polite' protest took place on Bourton's streets in response to rampant overtourism.

There were no arrests, but some 100 residents gathered on the village green by the River Windrush at 8am, holding a few placards and wearing T-shirts with 'We love tourists' printed on the front and 'Just not this many!' on the back. 

However, the councillor said residents have avoided the town centre during peak times, and there has been a loss of sense of community as a result, the Cotswold Journal revealed.

He argued it is now a village learning to live without its villagers.