Autori: Cappellani, Luca, Busetta, Pietro Massimo
Titolo: "Overtourism" nel Mezzogiorno: emergenza dei flussi o necessità di una più efficace programmazione strategica territoriale e nazionale?
Periodico: Rivista economica del Mezzogiorno
Anno: 2025 - Fascicolo: 1/2 - Pagina iniziale: 5 - Pagina finale: 58

The debate on overtourism often tends to be based on widespread perceptions rather than empirically based assessments. Resident protests, urban congestion, and tensions in real estate markets are frequently interpreted as unequivocal signs of a structural excess in tourist demand. However, as the analysis shows, these phenomena are not always reflected in the data relating to the intensity of flows, especially when considering the regions of Southern Italy. The study shows that, even including estimates of overnight stays not captured by official statistics, tourist crowding levels in Southern regions and provinces remain significantly lower than those in Central and Northern Italy and the European average, especially when compared to the resident population and territorial extension. It follows that the discomfort perceived by residents is not attributable, in most cases, to an excess of the regions’ overall capacity, but rather to localized bottlenecks, infrastructure deficiencies, and inadequate public services. This evidence calls for a rethinking of the approach to tourism policies. If overtourism is not a structural phenomenon in Southern Italy, then generalized containment strategies are not only ineffective, but potentially harmful. Tourism is indeed one of the sectors capable of significantly contributing to economic development, employment, and territorial cohesion in Southern regions, although it alone is insufficient to solve the chronic problem of low levels of development and insufficient labor supply. In other words, what is being argued is not the old narrative of a South that can survive on tourism alone, but rather that Southern Italy still has ample room for the development of a sustainable tourism industry that respects the needs of its regions. The policy conclusions are therefore based on a rationale for managing flows rather than limiting them: planning, deseasonalization, expansion of attractive areas, investment in essential services and mobility infrastructure. Without such interventions, the risk is that tourism will be blamed for responsibilities that are actually attributable to structural delays within the State and local governments. The overtourism alarm, in this sense, appears less as a problem of excess demand and more as a symptom of inadequate development management.




SICI: 1120-9534(2025)1/2<5:"NMEDF>2.0.ZU;2-P
Testo completo: https://www.rivisteweb.it/download/article/10.1432/120195
Testo completo alternativo: https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.1432/120195

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