Managing overtourism through economic taxation: policy lessons from five countries

Abstract

Overtourism is a rapidly evolving concept relevant to sustainable tourism. While various definitions of overtourism exist, we conceive it as a form of post-mass tourism phenomenon that has transitioned from a state of ‘mass’ to a state of ‘over’, implying irreversible impacts on local populations and landscapes. As such, the focus of overtourism, as discussed in this paper, is on a destination’s supply-side attributes. Using a case study approach, we explore overtourism concerns in five countries, namely France, USA, China, Spain and Italy. The main objective of the paper is to explore the kinds of economic taxations used in managing overtourism. Study findings indicate tourist taxes and entrance fees as popular approaches employed in overtourism concerns; however, their effectiveness in solving environmental problems remains debatable. We propose a combination of destination specific economic and non-economic policies to combat overtourism including the imposing of correctives taxes and fees; sharing benefits among the locals and tourist authorities; maximising the social and economic benefits from tourism for local residents directly impacted by development; smoothing and extending visitors spread and flow; curbing fossils fuels energy consumption and regulating accommodation supplies. The long-term solution is the formulation and implementation of tourism policies that are integrated with the energy, environment and socio-economic policies at the national level. In the absence of integrative policy frameworks, many popular destinations around the world will eventually have to confront issues arising from overtourism.

摘要

过度旅游是一个与可持续旅游相关的快速发展的概念。虽然关于过度旅游的定义多种多样, 但我们认为它是后大众旅游现象的一种形式, 已经从‘大众’的状态过渡到‘过度’的状态, 这意味着对当地人口和景观的影响是不可逆转的。因此, 正如本文所讨论的, 过度旅游的焦点在于目的地的供给方的属性。本文以法国、美国、中国、西班牙和意大利为研究对象, 采用个案研究的方法, 探讨了这五个国家的过度旅游问题。本文的主要目的是探讨经济税收在过度旅游管理中的应用。研究结果表明, 旅游税和门票是解决过度旅游问题的常用方法;然而, 它们在解决环境问题方面的有效性仍然存在争议。我们建议结合目的地特定的经济和非经济政策来治理过度旅游, 包括征收调节性税费;与当地人和旅游当局分享利益;使旅游业为直接受发展影响的本地居民带来最大的社会及经济效益;通畅游客的传播和流动;控制化石燃料的消耗和调节住宿供应。长期的解决办法是制定和执行与国家层次的能源、环境和社会经济政策相结合的旅游政策。在缺乏综合政策框架的情况下, 世界上许多受欢迎的旅游目的地最终将不得不面对过度旅游带来的问题。

Keywords:

• Overtourism
• adverse impacts
• case studies
• taxes
• entrance fees
• social concerns

JEL Classification:

• Z30
• Z32
• Z38

关键词:

• 关键词:
• 过度旅游
• 不利影响
• 案例研究
• 税收
• 门票
• 社会问题

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgement

The authors are thankful to the anonymous reviewers and editors for providing helpful comments in improving this paper. The corresponding author also wishes to acknowledge the valuabale inputs from colleagues at Massey University and the University of Tasmania.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rabindra Nepal

Rabindra Nepal is a Senior Lecturer in Economics with established research expertise in the areas of energy, tourism, environment and economic regulation. He is also a Research Associate at the Energy and Climate Change Program of the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis based within the Australian National University (ANU).

Sanjay Kumar Nepal

Sanjay Kumar Nepal is a Professor in the Geography and Environmental Management department of the University of Waterloo, Canada. His research interests involve exploring the links between biodiversity conservation and tourism, particularly in areas of resolving conflicts between wildlife agencies and local communities, tourism impacts on the environment (in parks and protected areas, and remote communities), community participation, and local level development through tourism. He received the Roy Wolfe Award from the Association of American Geographers for his research in tourism in 2012.