AAG 2018: The dynamics of anti-tourism

In 2017 activists in several venues (Barcelona, Venice, Palma de Mallorca, Amsterdam, Bhutan, Dubrovnik, to name a few) launched local campaigns against tourists and tourism. In August, UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai called the rise in anti-tourist sentiment is “a very serious situation that needs to be addressed in a serious way.”

What is behind these actions and how do we best understand them? Are they simply a reaction to perceived ‘overtourism’ (a term widely adopted in the media this year)? Do they imply a disillusionment with, or critique of, mass tourism’s cultural influence? Are they best understood as criticism of certain types of tourism – cruise tourists, casinos, mega-events? Do the very diverse forms of anti-tourism contain a common thread? Are they motivated by a desire for resources, recognition, growth or de-growth?

While some attention has been given to opposition to specific forms of tourism (Boykoff, 2011; Briassoulis, 2011; Cox, 1993) we need a deeper understanding of the various forms and manifestations of anti-tourism as well as the impact such movements have. This session seeks papers that address opposition to tourism of all kinds, which might include:

• Reactions to perceived ‘overtourism’ • Anti-tourism and cultural identity • Controversies over resource use: tourism and recreation versus other uses • Disputes among tourists over access and predominant forms of tourism within a given site (e.g. backpacker tourists vs. coach tourists) • Opposition to specific types of tourism development: casinos, cruise tourism, the Olympic games, sex tourism • Anti-tourism as a new social movement • Historical evolution of anti-tourism • The impact of anti-tourism movements on tourism destinations • Tourism and the ‘right to the city’

Movement

Movement is the crossing of space by people, objects, capital, ideas and other information. It is either oriented, and therefore occurs between an origin and one or more destinations, or it is more akin to the idea of simply wandering, with no real origin or destination.

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