Overtourism as a perceived threat to cultural heritage in Europe

In: Adie , B A , Falk , M & Savioli , M 2019 , ' Overtourism as a perceived threat to cultural heritage in Europe ' , Current Issues in Tourism . https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1687661

Open Access

Abstract

Around 37 per cent of Europeans believe that the number of tourists visiting certain areas poses a threat to Europe's cultural heritage. This study investigates the determinants of the perception of overtourism of European cultural heritage sites based on individual data for 28,000 residents in Europe. Ordered probit and binary probit models show that probability that overtourism is seen as a threat to cultural heritage is highest in countries that have not experienced many anti-tourism protests. The perception of overtourism does not vary significantly across age, gender but is significantly higher for skilled occupations and people with left-wing political orientation.