Uncertain future? From Overtourism to Re-starting Tourism
During May 18-20 2021 we will run the third workshop of the project titled: Uncertain future? From Overtourism to Re-starting Tourism. The notion of overtourism captures the situation when tourism has grown out of proportion, either in terms of societal implications or natural impacts. It is the situation when tourism is not improving the quality of life for inhabitants but rather decreasing it and also when tourists are experiencing deteriorating service and a widening gap between what they pay for and what they get. As such, while useful for underscoring the risks of uncontrolled growth, the concept of overtourism needs further scrutiny in order to play a significant role in discussion on responsible tourism development. With the current global halt of tourism due to COVID-19 the attention of researchers, policymakers and tourism entrepreneurs has swiftly moved away from overtourism towards the state of no-tourism and further how to re-start tourism in post-covid times. We will therefore broaden the focus of the third workshop to include not only the problematics of overtourism as a phenomenon and analytical concept but also the challenges involved in re-starting tourism and potential opportunities for enhancing responsible tourism development.
During the workshop we would like to emphasize the subjects of employment and workforce, natural impact and management and innovation. As such the theme of overtourism and responses to crises ties the work and findings from the previous two project years and workshops together and similar to the previous workshops on seasonality and urban tourism it will be organized as a collaborative event of knowledge production and exchange between industry, researchers and students.