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The increasing globalization of tourism is a widely acknowledged phenomenon leading to growth and diversification of tourist flows and a larger and more varied offer of tourist destinations. This increase in tourist flows and the diversity of destinations is driven by changes in consumption patterns stimulated by new motivations and lifestyles (Veiga et al., 2017).
The major European cities are currently debating on overtourism. Paris, London, Barcelona, among others, have always positioned themselves as reference tourist destinations. However, with the introduction of low-cost flights, they have witnessed a revolution with a never-before seen increase in international travel.
In its annual trends review, Tourism in 2018, IPDT analyses the theme of overtourism, by looking at Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Iceland, London, Majorca, Paris, Prague and Venice, identified as the main sites near the point of “overtourism,” and trying to understand if overtourism has led to the loss of inhabitants in these urban centers (IPDT, 2018).
Based on the annual reports published by the national statistical offices of each mentioned destination, the summary results were as follows:
Since 1980, Venice lost 41 per cent of residents, now has approximately 55,000 inhabitants. Also, Barcelona saw a 9 per cent decrease in population. On the other hand, Amsterdam and London have experienced population growth of 13 and 37 per cent, respectively. As for Paris, Prague and Dubrovnik, the variations are residual.
Everyday, Paris receives 270 thousand tourists and London 400 thousand. These are the destinations with the largest number of visitors per day. As a result of its longest stay (seven nights), the island of Majorca presents an interesting fact: if we distribute the number of tourists per day, we reach 300,000 daily tourists. Cities like Venice (65 thousand), Barcelona (48 thousand), Prague (48 thousand) and Amsterdam (37 thousand) also appear as important destinations. It is interesting in case of Venice that, per day, the city receives 65 thousand tourists, with a resident population of just 55 thousand.
In trying to establish a comparison with Lisbon, a city that starts to evidence signs of negative reactions by some residents and pressure groups to the rapid growth of tourism in its historic center, the results show that, on average, Lisbon receives 30 thousand tourists per day. The city of...