More people are travelling than ever before, bringing a boom in global tourism that shows no sign of running out of steam.

But while industry bosses were celebrating 2017’s record-breaking figures at this year’s ITB show in Berlin, there was growing concern about the problem of overtourism, which is posing a threat to some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.

Last year, the industry notched up more than 1.3 billion international travellers, a 7% increase on 2016 and following a strong showing since January, another record performance is expected this year.

In Germany, Europe’s largest outbound market, bookings have got off to a flying start with an 18% jump over this time last year, according to research by GfK.

Demand among German holidaymakers has been strongest for Turkey and Greece, which have seen business rocket by up to 50%, while Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco are also witnessing a comeback.

“We can see growing mobility around the world and, internationally, we are heading for a record year in tourism again,” said Norbert Fiebig, president of German travel association DRV.

“People are travelling from more countries and that helps to bring more stability to local economies. However, for some destinations rising tourism is also a growing burden, the key word being overtourism.”

Such is the concern, a number of events were dedicated to this topic at the ITB Convention, which runs alongside the trade fair. One focused on the measures destinations can take to avoid being suffocated by growing numbers of visitors, while another focused on drastic measures that some tourist hotspots had already undertaken.

“As an industry, we must be aware that mass tourism does not strain [locals’] goodwill, for hospitality is crucial to making a destination attractive,” added Fiebig.

“It is primarily up to destinations to exert a controlling influence. Intelligent marketing concepts can help to reduce numbers at hotspots and many places are already pointing the way. Mutual solutions are required.”