Overtourismus: Ein Beitrag für eine sozialwissenschaftlich basierte Fundierung und Differenzierung der Diskussion

Since 2017, the term “overtourism” and the discussion surrounding it has received a great deal of public attention. Focused on some extremely crowded urban tourist destinations and stimulated by intensive media coverage on visitor pressures and the negative effects triggered by tourists, the discussion regarding the phenomenon of overtourism is nevertheless characterised by a few prominent urban tourist destinations. This raises the question as to what extent this discussion, which is triggered by a few extreme examples, can be seen as an indication of an increasing general rejection of tourist visitors.

Relatively little is known about urban tourist destinations that are not (yet) the focus of extensive media coverage. Is it possible to identify negative attitudes already (even if they are not yet publicly visible)? Are there indications that, apart from the sheer number of visitors, other sociocultural or demand-related aspects are also relevant for the acceptance of external visitors?

By choosing Munich as an example of a city with a high level of visitor intensity that at the same time still has a population with relatively few directly visible negative attitudes regarding tourists, the question of which aspects are relevant for perspectives about tourist visitors is one worth asking. This article is an attempt to contribute to scientifically defining and establishing the media discussion.