As mass tourism (or overtourism) becomes an increasing concern for many regions, the number of studies and articles written about the topic is also growing:
UNWTO have published a new report, 'Overtourism’? Understanding and Managing Urban Tourism Growth Beyond Perceptions: Case Studies’; for a quick overview, the executive summary is available or read the full 86-page report in the UNWTO eResource (behind Key Resources in the portal).
A study entitled ‘Overtourism: impact and possible policy responses’, has mapped out the consequences of overtourism for European destinations. The research project focusses on 41 of the 105 overtourism destinations. It highlights that overtourism 'entails many risks, such as traffic issues, nuisance and harmful environmental effects, affecting not only cities, but coastal regions, islands and rural areas too'. As well as providing a checklist for destinations to assess potential risks, it lists 15 European regions at high risk of developing overtourism destinations.
Even Easter Island hasn't escaped overtourism; an article in Tourism Review outlines how Chile is tackling the problem. A number of countries have decided to introduce a tourist tax to tackle the problem. An article by J W Intelligence also looks at how tourist destinations are managing the crowds.
And finally... if you are a Game of Thrones fan this article by the Guardian might be of interest, discussing large numbers of visitors to the set in Dubrovnik.
