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Overtourism in Historic Cities
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Overtourism in Historic Cities

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 17619

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. María García-Hernández

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography, Complutense University of Madrid, Av. Séneca, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: urban tourism; cultural tourism; cultural heritage; tourism planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the pre-COVID 19 tourism scenario, a rapid and sustained growth in tourist influx had been taking place. Cities were one of the protagonists of this growth, which was mainly focused on urban centers. Many of these centers are historical sites with high heritage value (some are even included in the UNESCO World Heritage List). Overcrowding due to tourism affects cultural tourist attractions and the historic urban landscape, the main tourist attraction in historic cities. The growth in the influx of visitors has created problems related to road congestion, the deterioration of heritage sites, the growth of housing for tourist use, the proliferation of tourist shops, the disappearance of traditional urban functions, and a reduction in the population, among other things. Depending on the approach, the academic literature uses such terms as overtourism, tourist gentrification, or touristification.

This Special Issue aims to provide a space for reflection and debate about these processes. Aspects such as the nature and measurement of the phenomenon are especially interesting. What is overtourism? How is it measured? What are the perceptions of the phenomenon? However, the measures adopted to address overtourism are also interesting. What policies have been applied? How is overtourism integrated into the urban planning of historic centers? Finally, although we are in a pandemic and the pressure that tourism exerts on cities has disappeared, it undoubtedly remains an important moment to reflect on the sustainability of the activity and also on the measures to control and regulate flows that were developed for situations of overtourism but are now applied for health reasons. This implies drastic changes in the models of tourist behavior in and tourist use of urban space.

Prof. Dr. María García-Hernández
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tourism planning and overtourism
  • overtourism, carrying capacity, and urban sustainability
  • overtourism indicators in historic cities
  • stakeholders and overtourism perceptions and discourses
  • overtourism, big data, and urban planning in the historic city
  • effects of overtourism in urban centers
  • overtourism and urban heritage
  • overtourism and urban policy

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 932 KiB  
Article
Counteracting Overtourism Using Demarketing Tools: A Logit Analysis Based on Existing Literature
by Umut Gülşen, Hüseyin Yolcu, Pelin Ataker, İlke Erçakar and Sevil Acar
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10592; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131910592 - 24 Sep 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2439
Abstract
Over the past few decades, demarketing has come up as an unorthodox but potentially strong approach that can be used to counter the negative effects of oversaturation in tourism destinations. This study investigates the difference that demarketing strategies can make on mitigation efforts [...] Read more.
Over the past few decades, demarketing has come up as an unorthodox but potentially strong approach that can be used to counter the negative effects of oversaturation in tourism destinations. This study investigates the difference that demarketing strategies can make on mitigation efforts towards overtourism in destinations across the globe by conducting a meta-analysis of the previous literature examining various case studies on the topic. This study approaches demarketing efforts against overtourism through the lens of the 4Ps of marketing: price, place, product, and promotion. The results of the logit model designate price as the only significant predictor in the mitigation of overtourism through demarketing, with the other three falling short. The findings are enhanced through various other predictors from the literature as well as government effectiveness in the destinations. Moreover, the driving forces such as environmental concerns and community satisfaction have proven to be significant factors as well. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Overtourism in Historic Cities)
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19 pages, 523 KiB  
Article
The Crossfire Rhetoric. Success in Danger vs. Unsustainable Growth. Analysis of Tourism Stakeholders’ Narratives in the Spanish Press (2008–2019)
by María Velasco González and José M. Ruano
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9127; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13169127 - 14 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2529
Abstract
Tourism has always stood out in terms of economic opportunities and personal enjoyment. However, the problem of overtourism has emerged in recent years in urban contexts of cities with diversified economies. Overtourism has become—to a much greater extent than any other variable challenging [...] Read more.
Tourism has always stood out in terms of economic opportunities and personal enjoyment. However, the problem of overtourism has emerged in recent years in urban contexts of cities with diversified economies. Overtourism has become—to a much greater extent than any other variable challenging the sustainability of the tourism model—an object of public debate and the media reflect this debate, which, in the case of Spain, is concentrated in the term “tourismphobia.” This paper aims to analyse the two main opposing narratives reflected in the Spanish media on the emergence of the problem of tourismphobia and that defined what was happening to influence both public opinion and public policymakers themselves. The methodological approach used is the narrative policy framework (NPF), which considers public policies as a social construct, shaped by particular ideologies, values, and worldviews that are structured in narratives. The conclusions point to the fact that even though the “success in danger” narrative was the winner, for the first time the sustainability of the country’s tourism model is being broadly questioned and by very diverse actors. It is also clear that in order to change the trajectory of consolidated tourism policies, it is necessary to build tangible public policy alternatives that can be articulated and implemented by public actors. Based on the findings of the paper, future lines of research could use the “Narrative Policy Framework” for the analysis of sustainable tourism policies or for the study of overtourism in different countries from a comparative perspective. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Overtourism in Historic Cities)
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25 pages, 3408 KiB  
Article
Tourism Impacts, Tourism-Phobia and Gentrification in Historic Centers: The Cases of Málaga (Spain) and Gdansk (Poland)
by Fernando Almeida-García, Rafael Cortés-Macías and Krzysztof Parzych
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 408; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13010408 - 05 Jan 2021
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6937
Abstract
This study analyzes the role of residents in urban tourist destinations affected by the increase in tourist flows, which have generated various problems such as tourism, gentrification and the emergence of tourism as a threat to residents. The role of residents in tourist [...] Read more.
This study analyzes the role of residents in urban tourist destinations affected by the increase in tourist flows, which have generated various problems such as tourism, gentrification and the emergence of tourism as a threat to residents. The role of residents in tourist destinations has not been analyzed regularly during the development process of destinations. We study two cases of historic centers in European cities, with the aim of comparing tourism problems, which are common to most European urban destinations. This study was conducted by administering surveys amongst residents of these historic centers (378 in Málaga, Spain, and 380 in Gdansk, Poland). These cities show a similar demographic size and urban characteristics. This is the first comparative research on tourism-phobia and gentrification in destinations, a field of analysis that is still not studied much. We develop specific scales to measure gentrification and tourism-phobia; moreover, we study the impact of some tourist problems that affect residents (noise, dirt, occupation of public spaces, etc.), and we show the spatial distribution of tourism-phobia. The same analysis instruments are used for both cities. The results of this study show that the tourism-phobia situation is different in the analyzed destinations. It is more intense in the case of Málaga than in Gdansk. The two historic centers are especially affected by the processes of increased tourist flows and the growth of new forms of tourist accommodation. The research results show that the residents’ annoyance caused by tourism gentrification is more intense than tourism-phobia. Both case studies highlight the residents’ complaints regarding the inadequate management of problems by public stakeholders and control measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Overtourism in Historic Cities)
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22 pages, 351 KiB  
Article
Urban Planning Regulations for Tourism in the Context of Overtourism. Applications in Historic Centres
by Manuel de la Calle-Vaquero, María García-Hernández and Sofía Mendoza de Miguel
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 70; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13010070 - 23 Dec 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4555
Abstract
The rapid growth in urban tourism has brought great pressure to the historic centres, intensifying the negative externalities that threaten their protection and proper functioning. The aim of this article is to analyse the use of urban planning regulations as an instrument for [...] Read more.
The rapid growth in urban tourism has brought great pressure to the historic centres, intensifying the negative externalities that threaten their protection and proper functioning. The aim of this article is to analyse the use of urban planning regulations as an instrument for containing tourism activity in situations of overtourism. A two-stage methodological approach is employed: Firstly, a review of the local governments’ response to the effects of tourism growth and the possibilities of local control in 46 Spanish cities is presented; secondly, a comparative analysis of the stricter short-term rentals regulations adopted by those cities is carried out. The common basis of the adopted regulations is the control of tourist use of an entire dwelling. Of the cities analysed, Barcelona has the most restrictive regulation, while in all the other cities, regulation is less restrictive and depends on the type of accommodation in question and/or the conditions imposed on issuing new licences. The results demonstrate the difficulties entailed in the process of formulating and applying regulations and reveal imbalances between the economic and urban planning visions, and between the rapid change in tourism and the much slower response capacity of governments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Overtourism in Historic Cities)
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