The Problems of Tourist Sustainability in Cultural Cities: Socio-Political Perceptions and Interests Management

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of this article is to analyse the social and political capacity of cities affected by cultural tourism. An investigation is carried out into the state of the situation in saturated destinations, the problems this poses to tourist sustainability and the positions of the various different interest groups. In Europe, many cultural cities-cum-tourist hotspots have reached such high levels of socio-political saturation that the resident population's capacity for carrying tourism has become overstretched. This has led to a state of irritation among the local population. Social movements now include this on their agenda but the various different interest groups (residents, political groups, entrepreneurs, management bodies) all react differently. We present data relating to the case of Barcelona, with analyses of residents' and tourists' opinions, the actions of social mobilization carried out by pressure groups, media repercussion and the reactions of the business sector and political groups. We examine data collected from surveys and opinions carried in the media. The sustainability and management of interests indicate changes in both the number and the type of tourists, the occupation of public spaces, the distribution of profit among entrepreneurs, residents and the political and economic model of society in the future.

Overtourism: Between the Right to Travel and Residents’ Rights

“…The right to travel, or individuals' mobility rights or freedom of movement, is a human rights concept encompassing the right of persons' to travel from place to place within the territory of a country [15,50], and to leave the country and return to it. The right to travel includes not only visiting different places, but also changing the place where the individual resides or works [15,50]. Freedom of movement is a part of human history [15,50].…”

“…The right to travel includes not only visiting different places, but also changing the place where the individual resides or works [15,50]. Freedom of movement is a part of human history [15,50]. The right to travel, or individuals' mobility rights, are recognized in international legal human rights instruments.…”

“…In this case, the mentioned right is in conflict with the international community of the state, where there is a greater concern about the types of migration for selected people [10]. When discussing the right to live, Alvarez-Sousa [15] points out that residents disagree with traditional businesses because of problems such as sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach for tourists, and cafeteria tables released to the public. These issues lead to more diverse political confrontation, participants of which may have different positions regarding the plight of residents and businesses.…”

Residents’ Attitudes towards Overtourism from the Perspective of Tourism Impacts and Cooperation—The Case of Ljubljana

“…This survey will address the overtourism risk from residents' perspective. Based on social carrying capacity and social exchange theory [16,18,[40][41][42], residents who evaluate the tourism exchange as beneficial perceive tourism's impacts differently from someone who evaluates the exchange as not beneficial. Thus, benefits might mediate the negative tourism impact perceptions of local inhabitants.…”

Analysis of the Accommodation Density in Coastal Tourism Areas of Insular Destinations from the Perspective of Overtourism

“…Given that the studies exploring the pressure of tourism on local communities emerged in the 1970s, alongside discussions on the risks of destination saturation [3,20,21], overtourism is not a new problem [22], although, as mentioned, the term itself is relatively new. Therefore, even though some consider the term to be "fuzzy", in that it is ill-defined, lacks clarity, and is highly difficult to operationalize [19], the contributions and focuses derived from the proliferation of research and grey literature publications over the past three years related to overtourism [1,10,11,16,19,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], represent a paradigm shift [32] in approaches to tourism sustainability, carrying capacity, the impact of tourism or destination evolution theories; in this sense, the term overtourism is used to allude to traditional concepts, to transcend its eminently theoretical aspect, and, above all, to provide a management approach that has been praised as innovative, sustainable, and a key to success [33]. The same occurs with tourist saturation in coastal tourism areas; it opens up new lines of research, such as the one put forth in this work.…”