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Overtourism in Iceland : Fantasy or reality?

Sæthórsdóttir, Anna Dóra ; Hall, C. Michael LU and Wendt, Margrét (2020) In Sustainability (Switzerland) 12(18).
Abstract

Iceland has been one of the main destinations that have been incorporated into the discourse of overtourism. However, Iceland is different to many other supposed overtourism destinations in that its tourism is based on natural areas. Nevertheless, destination discourses can play an important part in influencing tourist decision-making and government and industry policy making. A media analysis was conducted of 507 online media articles on overtourism in Iceland that were published in 2018, with the main themes being identified via content analysis. The results indicated that the media discourse represented only a partial picture of overtourism and the crowding phenomenon in Iceland, with mechanisms to respond to crowding, the... (More)

Iceland has been one of the main destinations that have been incorporated into the discourse of overtourism. However, Iceland is different to many other supposed overtourism destinations in that its tourism is based on natural areas. Nevertheless, destination discourses can play an important part in influencing tourist decision-making and government and industry policy making. A media analysis was conducted of 507 online media articles on overtourism in Iceland that were published in 2018, with the main themes being identified via content analysis. The results indicated that the media discourse represented only a partial picture of overtourism and the crowding phenomenon in Iceland, with mechanisms to respond to crowding, the satisfaction level of tourists with their Icelandic nature experience, and local people's support for tourism being underreported. Some of the findings reflect that of other media analyses. However, there are considerable discontinuities between media representations and discourses of overtourism in Iceland, which highlight the importance of national-or destination-level media analysis. The media analysis illustrates the need for a better understanding of different destination discourses and their influence.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Carrying capacity, Commons, Crowding, Destination change, Discourse, Iceland, Media, Overtourism
in
Sustainability (Switzerland)
volume
12
issue
18
article number
7375
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85091593905
ISSN
2071-1050
DOI
10.3390/SU12187375
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c18e57e7-02ca-4a29-8e3e-3f276a640ec7
date added to LUP
2020-10-28 11:27:15
date last changed
2023-01-01 01:04:14
@article{c18e57e7-02ca-4a29-8e3e-3f276a640ec7,
  abstract     = {{<p>Iceland has been one of the main destinations that have been incorporated into the discourse of overtourism. However, Iceland is different to many other supposed overtourism destinations in that its tourism is based on natural areas. Nevertheless, destination discourses can play an important part in influencing tourist decision-making and government and industry policy making. A media analysis was conducted of 507 online media articles on overtourism in Iceland that were published in 2018, with the main themes being identified via content analysis. The results indicated that the media discourse represented only a partial picture of overtourism and the crowding phenomenon in Iceland, with mechanisms to respond to crowding, the satisfaction level of tourists with their Icelandic nature experience, and local people's support for tourism being underreported. Some of the findings reflect that of other media analyses. However, there are considerable discontinuities between media representations and discourses of overtourism in Iceland, which highlight the importance of national-or destination-level media analysis. The media analysis illustrates the need for a better understanding of different destination discourses and their influence.</p>}},
  author       = {{Sæthórsdóttir, Anna Dóra and Hall, C. Michael and Wendt, Margrét}},
  issn         = {{2071-1050}},
  keywords     = {{Carrying capacity; Commons; Crowding; Destination change; Discourse; Iceland; Media; Overtourism}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{18}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Sustainability (Switzerland)}},
  title        = {{Overtourism in Iceland : Fantasy or reality?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/SU12187375}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/SU12187375}},
  volume       = {{12}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}