Unbalanced tourism growth at destination level – root causes, impacts, existing solutions and good practices

This study investigates the very topical issue of overtourism across Europe and in vari-ous types of destinations, in particular before the pandemic but also taking into account the Covid-19 crisis. The root causes, impacts and existing solutions implemented to counteract or mitigate unbalanced tourism growth are thoroughly and critically exam-ined. The study has shown that overtourism is a compound phenomenon, understood and felt differently depending on the destination. Likewise, its assessment requires both a quantitative and qualitative approach and does not correspond to the identification of a maximum threshold beyond which the carrying capacity of a destination is exceeded. Overall, the study identified a need for more refined data, at higher territorial resolution levels. While the economic importance of tourism for destinations shall not be underes-timated, overtourism leads to social (e.g. conflicts with local population) and environ-mental (e.g. pollution) problems. The examined destinations have proactively imple-mented a wide array of measures to foster off-season tourism, enhance the satisfaction and quality of tourists' experiences and disperse tourism flows territorially.A key outcome of this study is the development of indicators to support a destination to better manage undesirable tourism developments and identify possible pathways for a more sustainable development of tourism. Likewise, a hands-on compendium designed for tourism professionals has been developed to gather information and solutions ad-dressing overtourism.