Across the globe, from established tourist destinations such as Venice or Prague to less traditional destinations in both the global North and South, there is mounting evidence that points to an increasing politicization of the topic of urban tourism. In some cities, residents and other stakeholders take issue with the growth of tourism as such, as well as the negative impacts it has on their cities; while in others, particular forms and effects of tourism are contested or deplored. In numerous settings, contestations revolve less around tourism itself than around broader processes, policies and forces of urban change perceived to threaten the right to ‘stay put’, the quality of life or identity of existing urban populations. This book for the first time looks at urban tourism as a source of contention and dispute and analyses what type of conflicts and contestations have emerged around urban tourism in 16 cities across Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It explores the various ways in which community groups, residents and other actors have responded to – and challenged – tourism development in an international and multi-disciplinary perspective. The title links the largely discrete yet interconnected disciplines of ‘urban studies’ and ‘tourism studies’ and draws on approaches and debates from urban sociology; urban policy and politics; urban geography; urban anthropology; cultural studies; urban design and planning; tourism studies and tourism management. This ground breaking volume offers new insight into the conflicts and struggles generated by urban tourism and will be of interest to students, researchers and academics from the fields of tourism, geography, planning, urban studies, development studies, anthropology, politics and sociology.

Over the last decade, while many scholars have maintained their interest in the classical debate concerning the impacts of tourism, some have attempted new conceptualisations, while others have converged towards critical narratives promoted by a number of social movements, and have become involved in subsequent discussions on ‘overtourism’ and ‘tourismphobia’. The terms 'overtourism' and 'tourismphobia' have their genesis in the rapid unfolding of unsustainable mass tourism practices and the responses that these have generated amongst academics, practitioners, social movements and grassroots organizations concerned with the detrimental use of urban, rural and coastal spaces, among others, for tourism purposes. The renewed interest in the study of the adverse impacts of tourism, as implied in the term 'overtourism', is related to a variety of well-established causes. Travel and Tourism in the Age of Overtourism builds on existing knowledge and makes a theoretical and practical contribution the overtourism debate and the system dynamics underlining it. This collection suggests ways to address this from a tourism and planning perspective. It offers critical reflections on the contemporary evolution of tourism development and the implication of such processes on people, places and spaces. The chapters in this book were originally published as a Special Issue of the journal Tourism Planning & Development.

This book gives an overview of the positions in the rapidly evolving debate over the sociocultural footprint of tourism on its destinations. Overtourism, its impact and subsequent mitigating measures taken, have started to dominate political discussions in European cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Seville and Berlin.

The early days of tourism development had a naïve vision of tourism’s impacts on society in terms of economic, social, and environmental benefits. Time has passed, and we have learnt lessons regarding the success and failure of tourism development. Mass tourism development has pros and cons and is not necessarily the optimal development model. Alternative development strategies should be contemplated. This Special Issue deals with different topics concerning optimal tourism development. Destination management requires further understanding of different issues, such as carrying capacity, income-based optimal supply size, identification and development of optimal market niches, and adaptation or environmental protection strategies. Tourism planning is concerned with the role of economies of agglomeration, i.e., the advantages of spatial clusters vs scattered development. Additionally, support for and investment in innovation, accessibility, and mobility are relevant nowadays. From the stakeholders’ perspective, it is relevant to discuss ways of cooperating and sources of conflicts among different sectors and actors, governance and incentives for sustainable tourism practices, and equity and economic distribution of benefits. Finally, the development of methodological tools for the assessment of optimal tourism development is necessary for policy making, in particular the development of methods that are capable of integrating economic, environmental, and social criteria.

This book explores the phenomena of the urban everyday and new urban tourism. It provides a systematic framework and draws on a mix of theoretical and empirical work to look at the increasing intermingling of ‘tourists’ and ‘residents’. Tourism and urban everyday life are deeply connected in a mutually constitutive way. Tourism has become a key momentum of urban development and affects cities beyond its economic dimension. Urban everyday life itself can turn into a matter of tourist interest for people searching for experiences off the beaten track. Even living in a city as a resident involves moments, activities and practices which could be labelled as ‘touristic’. These observations demonstrate some of the various layers in which urban tourism and everyday city life are intertwined. This book gathers multiple interdisciplinary approaches, a diversity of topics and methodological variety to examine this complex relationship. It presents a systematic framework for the dynamic research field of new urban tourism along three dimensions: the extraordinary mundane, encounters and contact zones, and urban co-production. This book will be of interest to students and researchers across fields such as Tourism and Mobility Studies, Urban Studies, Leisure Studies, Tourism Geography, and Tourism Sociology.

Ambitious projects to modernize European capital cities emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century. The need for urban planning and urban expansion in European cities resulted from industrialization, modernization and economic development that created huge waves of immigration from rural areas into cities. These social and economic changes also laid the infrastructure for the mass tourism that would follow later. This comprehensive collection investigates the interrelationship between urban planning and tourism consumption in European cities, and its evolvement and transition over time. The authors focus on different cases of urban planning and tourism consumption in a range of European cities – Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Barcelona, Lisbon, Prague, Budapest and Skopje. In addition to being political and cultural capitals, these cities are also places where ordinary people live and work. This book addresses questions and concerns regarding the social and economic carrying capacity of these capital cities due to the growing intensity and volume of tourism. This book will be of interest to students, researchers and professionals in the fields of urban planning and tourism geography. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal Tourism Geographies.

The Routledge Handbook of Tourism Geographies, 2nd Edition, offers a comprehensive re-evaluation of the recent developments; conceptual, theoretical and empirical debates; and critical issues in this field of study. Reflecting on and building from its original aim of rethinking geographical approaches to tourism, the volume explores contemporary tourism contexts and concepts, as marked by the present era of polycrises, setting out renewed and reoriented perspectives on tourism geographies into the mid-2020s. Across its diverse range of contributions, the Handbook navigates the complexities of tourism as a shifting construct, situating tourism geographies within the socio-spatial, economic and environmental implications of tourism, leisure and mobilities in the new contexts of global change, ecological transition and digital transformation. The volume aims to provide a nuanced and detailed analysis of established and emerging discourses and debates within tourism geographies, underscoring the field’s inherent criticality and ideal positioning for understanding and catalysing complex global and local scenarios in contemporary tourism, leisure and mobilities. Written by leading scholars in the tourism geographies field, this text is an invaluable resource for students, researchers and scholars working in the areas of tourism, geography and related disciplines, encouraging dialogue across areas of study.