A Break from Overtourism: Domestic Tourists Reclaiming Nature during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Natural areas are often of particular importance for residents as venues for recreation and domestic tourism. However, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, overtourism was a major challenge for many nature-based tourism destinations worldwide, and led to a perceived restriction of tourism opportunities f...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b2b63b47775e441c80353fc9eb8454e8 2023-05-15T16:47:02+02:00 A Break from Overtourism: Domestic Tourists Reclaiming Nature during the COVID-19 Pandemic Margrét Wendt Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir Edda R. H. Waage 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030048 https://doaj.org/article/b2b63b47775e441c80353fc9eb8454e8 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/3/3/48 https://doaj.org/toc/2673-5768 doi:10.3390/tourhosp3030048 2673-5768 https://doaj.org/article/b2b63b47775e441c80353fc9eb8454e8 Tourism and Hospitality, Vol 3, Iss 48, Pp 788-802 (2022) overtourism domestic tourism COVID-19 pandemic Iceland tourist experience reclaiming nature Personnel management. Employment management HF5549-5549.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030048 2022-12-30T19:57:39Z Natural areas are often of particular importance for residents as venues for recreation and domestic tourism. However, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, overtourism was a major challenge for many nature-based tourism destinations worldwide, and led to a perceived restriction of tourism opportunities for residents. Iceland, one of the countries most associated with the concept of overtourism, witnessed a rapid reduction in international tourist arrivals after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, domestic tourism was unrestricted and, in fact, actively encouraged. Iceland in the summer of 2020 thus presents an interesting case for studying the experience of domestic tourists at previously overcrowded nature destinations. The study took place in Landmannalaugar, a nature destination known for crowding prior to the pandemic, and is based on 33 semi-structured interviews. Its results reveal that Icelandic residents perceived the break from overtourism as a benefit of the pandemic, and considered it a unique opportunity to reclaim nature destinations from which they had been displaced due to overcrowding by international tourists. Furthermore, they welcomed the chance to engage with fellow domestic tourists. The findings stress the importance of addressing the needs and wants of residents and supporting the development of domestic tourism. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Landmannalaugar Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Landmannalaugar ENVELOPE(-19.060,-19.060,63.991,63.991) Tourism and Hospitality 3 3 788 802 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
overtourism domestic tourism COVID-19 pandemic Iceland tourist experience reclaiming nature Personnel management. Employment management HF5549-5549.5 |
spellingShingle |
overtourism domestic tourism COVID-19 pandemic Iceland tourist experience reclaiming nature Personnel management. Employment management HF5549-5549.5 Margrét Wendt Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir Edda R. H. Waage A Break from Overtourism: Domestic Tourists Reclaiming Nature during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
topic_facet |
overtourism domestic tourism COVID-19 pandemic Iceland tourist experience reclaiming nature Personnel management. Employment management HF5549-5549.5 |
description |
Natural areas are often of particular importance for residents as venues for recreation and domestic tourism. However, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, overtourism was a major challenge for many nature-based tourism destinations worldwide, and led to a perceived restriction of tourism opportunities for residents. Iceland, one of the countries most associated with the concept of overtourism, witnessed a rapid reduction in international tourist arrivals after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, domestic tourism was unrestricted and, in fact, actively encouraged. Iceland in the summer of 2020 thus presents an interesting case for studying the experience of domestic tourists at previously overcrowded nature destinations. The study took place in Landmannalaugar, a nature destination known for crowding prior to the pandemic, and is based on 33 semi-structured interviews. Its results reveal that Icelandic residents perceived the break from overtourism as a benefit of the pandemic, and considered it a unique opportunity to reclaim nature destinations from which they had been displaced due to overcrowding by international tourists. Furthermore, they welcomed the chance to engage with fellow domestic tourists. The findings stress the importance of addressing the needs and wants of residents and supporting the development of domestic tourism. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Margrét Wendt Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir Edda R. H. Waage |
author_facet |
Margrét Wendt Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir Edda R. H. Waage |
author_sort |
Margrét Wendt |
title |
A Break from Overtourism: Domestic Tourists Reclaiming Nature during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_short |
A Break from Overtourism: Domestic Tourists Reclaiming Nature during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_full |
A Break from Overtourism: Domestic Tourists Reclaiming Nature during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_fullStr |
A Break from Overtourism: Domestic Tourists Reclaiming Nature during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Break from Overtourism: Domestic Tourists Reclaiming Nature during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_sort |
break from overtourism: domestic tourists reclaiming nature during the covid-19 pandemic |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030048 https://doaj.org/article/b2b63b47775e441c80353fc9eb8454e8 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-19.060,-19.060,63.991,63.991) |
geographic |
Landmannalaugar |
geographic_facet |
Landmannalaugar |
genre |
Iceland Landmannalaugar |
genre_facet |
Iceland Landmannalaugar |
op_source |
Tourism and Hospitality, Vol 3, Iss 48, Pp 788-802 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/3/3/48 https://doaj.org/toc/2673-5768 doi:10.3390/tourhosp3030048 2673-5768 https://doaj.org/article/b2b63b47775e441c80353fc9eb8454e8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030048 |
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Tourism and Hospitality |
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3 |
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3 |
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788 |
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802 |
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1766037138329042944 |