Brink, Kaj ten (2021) The Influence of online platforms and COVID-19 on Overtourism. Master thesis.
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Master thesis The impact of digital platforms and Covid-19 on overtourism.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
The debate of overtourism has become increasingly about the unbalance between tourists’ and inhabitants' needs on the one hand and the natural and social impacts on the other. Spreading tourism over place and time can result in more sustainable destinations. Based on the theoretical background and empirical analysis, it is expected that alternative destinations are likely to attract more tourists if online platforms are used in the right way. Questionnaire data collected from tourists is analyzed to determine the potentials of digital platforms and COVID-19 in changing tourists’ behavior and therefore decreasing overtourism. A relationship between the online accessibility of destinations and overtourism is found. As online platforms and especially social media will make alternative destinations more accessible, the number of alternative tourists is expected to increase, and overtourism will decrease. Tourists are restricted in their destination choices because of COVID-19. It is likely that once tourists can travel again, they will try to minimize the risk of traveling by avoiding crowded destinations and make more use of innovative solutions such as time- regulated ticketing. By giving the smaller destinations a bigger online platform, their competitive position will be better, which will lead to a better spreading of tourists, less overcrowded spaces in overtouristic places, and better- balanced tourism industry. Innovative solutions to spread tourism will be embraced. COVID-19 is expected to be an amplifier of this process. Future research should focus on making the transition to a sustainable tourism industry economically sustainable for established tourism workers.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Economic Geography |
| Supervisor: | Dijk, J. van |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Jun 2021 16:22 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Jun 2021 16:22 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3485 |
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