Rethinking Overtourism as a Context-specific Phenomenon : Insights from the Nordics

Summary, in English

Overtourism has emerged as a pressing challenge for many destinations, but its manifestations and impacts vary in different geographical and socio-political contexts. This chapter examines overtourism as a situated phenomenon from a Nordic perspective, focusing on how place-based conflicts arise in urban and peri-urban areas. Drawing on instances from different locations, we analyse the ways in which overtourism is shaped by national policies, local governance, and socio-cultural dynamics. The findings show that overtourism in the Nordic region is highly context-dependent, influenced by spatial, political, and post-pandemic recovery considerations. The chapter concludes by discussing the broader implications for sustainable urban tourism, emphasising the need for context sensitive strategies and multidisciplinary approaches to analyse the impact of historical and cultural processes on tourism pressures.

• Author: Jan-Henrik Nilsson; Cecilia Cassinger
• Editor: Lino Briguglio; Marie Avellino; Jim Butcher
• Department/s: Department of Communication; Centre for Retail Research at Lund University; Department of Service Studies
• Publishing year: 2026-01-01
• Language: English
• Pages: 108-119
• Publication/Series: Overtourism in Cities and Small Islands
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003609940-10
• Document type: Book chapter
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Topic: Other Geographic Studies (including Tourism, Urban, Rural, and Global Studies)
• Status: Published
• Project: Rethinking urban tourism development: Dealing with sustainability in the age of over-tourism; Service Studies Tourism
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISBN: 9781041004493; ISBN: 9781040580684