Global tourist sites that have been forced to close by overcrowding, crime, climate breakdown and more

From overcrowding and acts of terrorism to natural disasters, tourist attractions temporarily close for a number of reasons. Main­tenance and renovation work led to the closure of Hong Kong’s Big Buddha in June 2020 and the services of the Peak Tram will be suspended for six months from June 28 while it undergoes a delayed HK$700 million (US$90 million) facelift.

Not every sightseeing attraction that closes reopens for business, however. When the following holiday hotspots shut their doors, nailed up the no entry signs and padlocked the gift shop, they were closing for good.

Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yana­sampanno, better known as Tiger Temple, attracted tourists keen to have their photo taken with a big (allegedly drugged) cat. The so-called wildlife sanctuary in Thailand was closed permanently after a police raid in 2016 amid concerns of corruption, illegal trading and mistreatment of the tigers for commercial gain. The police had discovered 40 dead cubs in a freezer.

With their fun fairs and fortune-tellers, candyfloss kiosks and amusement arcades, Britain’s pleasure piers date back to the rise in popularity of seaside resorts during the Victorian era. At their peak, in the early 20th century, at least 100 piers graced the British coastline but only about half remain. Opened in 1866, Brighton West Pier closed to the public for safety reasons in 1975 and gradually fell into disrepair before partially collapsing after a succession of storms. Two fires in 2003, believed to be arson, put paid to plans to resurrect the iconic landmark.

Discovered by four teenagers in 1940, the Lascaux Cave, in France, became a popular tourist attraction until scientists realised the 2,000 daily visitors brought with them heat, humidity and microbes that damaged the Palaeolithic paintings. It was closed to the public in 1963. When, in 1994, similarly ancient artwork was discovered in Chauvet Cave, also in southern France, authorities acted with alacrity.

Undisturbed since a landslide had sealed off the entrance more than 20,000 years ago, Grotte Chauvet in France has the rare distinction of being a Unesco World Heritage Site the public is not allowed to visit. Only palaeontologists, speleologists and radio-carbon-dating specialists get to set eyes on Chauvet’s 420 paintings and engravings, which are thought to be the oldest on the planet.

Used by walkers, joggers, dog owners but mostly photographers, the Western District Public Cargo Working Area, aka Instagram Pier, in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong Island, was shut to the public in February due to coronavirus-related concerns. The area is unlikely to reopen, however, as the Marine Department says the heavy goods vehicles and mobile cranes used for loading and unloading are safety hazards. In addition, there were complaints from business owners that crowds of snappers disrupted their operations.

The Azure Window was one of Malta’s most photographed attractions until it collapsed during a 2017 storm. Erosion had carved a hole in the lime­stone cliff, creating a huge flat-topped arch. The geological feature appeared in the first episode of television fantasy series Game of Thrones and the histori­cal adventure film The Count of Monte Cristo (2002).

Experts were well aware the photogenic formation’s days were numbered but predicted it would last a few more decades. Fines of €1,500 (US$1,800) were introduced for anyone caught walking, climbing or jumping off the Azure Window but were rarely enforced and people were still strolling on top of the arch only days before it gave way.

Pre-Covid-19, Amsterdam suffered so severely from overtourism that MPs called on the Dutch government to look at ways of reducing visitor numbers. Perhaps it was no surprise, then, that the last merchant operating in the Bloemenmarkt shut up shop in 2019. The world’s only permanent floating flower market had been a feature of the city since 1862 but, according to the final florist to vacate his premises, the swarms of tourists who displaced customers were more interested in photographing the stall than buying its flowers.

Dynamite is one sure-fire way of ensuring a sightseeing attraction closes permanently. Once popular with tourists and scholars, the Buddhas of Bamiyan – two giant hand-carved statues in Afghanistan – were destroyed with explosives by the Taliban in 2001. The sandstone sculptures, which towered over the Bamiyan Valley, dated back to the sixth century and were once the largest in the world. There was talk of rebuilding the pair until Unesco put an end to the speculation. In March this year, however, one of the statues reappeared in situ, in the form of a 3D projection, as part of an event called “A Night with Buddha”.