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Abstract
The controversial and multifaceted phenomenon of overtourism has been increasingly discussed and problematized by scholars. Although international media paid significant attention to overtourism contributing to raising concerns for local tourism impacts, limited efforts were made to explore the media’s representation of the phenomenon and its role in shaping the understanding of overtourism in public opinion and amongst policymakers. This paper contributes to the academic debate on overtourism by adopting a narrative approach to the analysis of how online news media represented it, stated its causes and effects, and suggested the actions to be taken for addressing it. The research provides novel interpretative perspectives on urban overtourism. It identifies the coexistence of factual, behavioural and perceptual overtourism effects and the role of passive and active urban stakeholders in overtouristified cities, suggesting further research on the local origin of the phenomenon. A set of managerial tools, including smart technologies, sheds light on the approaches to addressing overtourism in the city, suggesting the importance of transcending conservative managerial views and moving towards inclusive and sustainable tourism development. The paper points towards new streams of research in tourism impact management and proves the value of the online news media narrative analysis in tourism studies.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees and the editor for the insightful and incisive comments received.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Cecilia Pasquinelli
Cecilia Pasquinelli, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Business Management at the University of Naples “Parthenope”. Previously. she worked as a researcher at the Gran Sasso Science Institute, Italy and at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. Her research has been mainly focused on place branding, place marketing, urban tourism, tourism innovation, local and regional development.
Mariapina Trunfio
Mariapina Trunfio, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Business Management and Tourism Management at the University of Naples “Parthenope” where she also serves as Director of the Master in Tourism & Hospitality Management. She worked for several years on issues concerning destination management and governance, place branding, sustainable tourism, local development, entrepreneurship, cross-cultural management, culture and creativity, smart destination, tourism innovation, augmented and virtual reality and MICE industry.