Overtourism, cultural attitudes and sustainable tourism

There has been a surge in interest in sustainable tourism activities in recent years; see for example: Bassi and Martín, 2024; Secondi et al., 2024; del Mar Alonso-Almeida, 2024. While the individual determinants that impact on the decision to engage in sustainable tourism activities, such as age, income and education have been considered in the literature, it is likely that individuals’ activities are shaped by their own experiences and attitudes towards tourism in their home region.

Escapism, as a push factor for tourism, has long been considered in the literature (Dann, 1977; Crompton, 1979; Iso-Ahola, 1982; Manell and Iso-Ahola, 1987). Escape motivated tourism suggests that individuals engage in holidays to avoid overstimulating life situations (Mannell and Iso-Ahola, 1987). Travelling to a recreational destination allows tourists to escape their everyday routines (Nikjoo and Ketabi, 2015) and a holiday can provide individuals with a ‘break from routine’ (Crompton, 1979). It is possible that individuals who experience the negative effects of overtourism in their everyday lives will want to escape unsustainable tourism patterns.
Similarly, cultural values shape the beliefs and perceptions that individuals develop in relation to sustainability as well as influencing their propensity to engage in sustainable practices (Tata and Prasad, 2015). This paper contributes to the literature by examining how the intensity of tourism activity in the individual's home region, as well as national attitudes towards sustainability, impact upon their decision to engage in sustainable tourism. Data from the Flash Eurobarometer on attitudes of Europeans towards tourism in 2021 is supplemented by data on European NUTS regions to conduct regression
analyses. The results will be of interest policymakers and stakeholders in the European tourism industry.