Overtourism

More and more tourist destinations are suffering from overcrowding, and this phenomenon of “overtourism” has already led to tensions in both urban and rural areas. It would appear that some destinations have reached their capacity of tourists who are visiting hotspots in the region. Or is the perception negative because tourist flows in these destinations are not distributed efficiently? Residents, especially local political actors and authorities, are not always able to deal with the situation. This can be observed in cities such as Venice, Barcelona and Dubrovnik, as well as UNESCO cultural and natural heritage sites. But is this a temporary phenomenon for these destinations caused by issues of security in other popular tourist destinations? Do destinations really have too many tourists, or is it more of a problem of visitor management? Or are the growing numbers of tourists a consequence of an increase in the mobility of people around the world, as well as an increase in prosperity and changes in lifestyle?

The aim of this conference is to discuss the phenomenon of “overtourism” and to demonstrate possible management strategies for large quantities of tourists that could prevent negative impacts on residents’ perceptions of tourists.