From carrying capacity to overtourism: a perspective article

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to place current burgeoning interest in overtourism into historical context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws upon the author’s experiences of working for approximately four decades on tourism and recreation using such concepts as impacts and carrying capacity.

Findings

This paper shows that overtourism is not a new concept. Rather it has a substantial history, although early origins within park and recreation settings in North America have been superseded by an emphasis on the urban areas of historic towns, particularly in Europe.

Originality/value

The paper provides a corrective to the common assumption that overtourism is a new phenomenon and, in doing so, points out the deficiencies of concepts and approaches, such as carrying capacity, that are being revived but have been used previously, criticized and found wanting.

Citation

Wall, G. (2020), "From carrying capacity to overtourism: a perspective article", Tourism Review, Vol. 75 No. 1, pp. 212-215. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-08-2019-0356