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Pre-emptively managing overtourism by promoting rural tourism in low-density areas: lessons from Madeira
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Overtourism refers not only to situations in which carrying capacity levels have been
exceeded, but also to those in which tourists and residents share negative feelings of discomfort
and other emotions, loss of quality of life and unpleasant experiences in their activities of daily
life. The growing number of places struggling with the problem of overtourism suggests that brand
new approaches are required to minimize the effects of excessive tourism. However, the impacts of
overtourism are place-specific and a one-size-fits-all approach is inappropriate. Many destinations
still have a considerable margin to manoeuvre but are nonetheless heading towards increasingly
unsustainable levels of tourists per square kilometer. Such regions have time to take some pre emptive measures based on principles of sustainable development using greener and energy-saving
technologies. Over the past few decades, degrowth has arisen as an unorthodox approach based on
principles of fairness and social and environmental justice. In certain areas, such as island economies,
the economic dynamics remain largely dependent on the tourism sector, which forces the local actors
to think and act differently. In this study, we analyze the strategies employed by Madeira to counter
the negative effects of oversaturation in a pre-emptive way. The findings of this case study, based on
the data at the county level, are enhanced by a panel data analysis of a number of relevant explanatory
variables explaining the dispersion of tourists to the rural hinterland. The results suggest that the
development of the rural hinterland has proven capable of exerting a progressively positive influence
well beyond the borders of the rural hinterland by accommodating a growing share of the increasing
numbers of tourists welcomed in the region in the 2002–2019 period, at the expense of the main capital
city. This study confirms the importance and potential of the development of the rural hinterland
to tackle overtourism in the main tourism areas. In terms of recommendations, it is suggested that
local operators and policy-makers must develop efforts to research new ways to adopt energy-saving
projects and develop tourisms products that incorporate eco-friendly behaviors.
Description
Keywords
Overtourism Sustainable development Madeira Island (Portugal) Panel data Energy-saving initiatives . Faculdade de Ciências Sociais
Citation
Majdak, P., & de Almeida, A. M. M. (2022). Pre-emptively managing overtourism by promoting rural tourism in low-density areas: lessons from Madeira. Sustainability, 14(2), 757.
Publisher
MDPI