Destination stakeholders’ perceptions of overtourism impacts, causes, and responses: The case of Big Sur, California

Abstract

Overtourism has recently become a pressing issue in Big Sur, a popular scenic route and major tourist attraction in Monterey County, California. The increased flow of visitors, competing for the limited existing infrastructure, has created negative impacts on the environment and community of Big Sur. By adopting an exploratory case study approach, this study gathered the perceptions of key destination stakeholders through 19 semi-structured interviews. The data-driven thematic analysis utilized to examine the interview data resulted in four major themes: pre-existing conditions, newly developed conditions, impacts, and responses. The findings suggest that a combination of a pre-existing condition of vulnerability and a sudden rise in popularity may be the basis for the development of overtourism, when proper tourism management is absent. As the first study investigating perceptions of overtourism in the context of California, this research attempted to categorize the full range of factors involved in the emergence of overtourism at a destination, as perceived by its local stakeholders. • A sudden rise in popularity can lead to overtourism if tourism management is absent. • Disrespectful behavior by tourists causes more disruption than sheer tourist numbers. • Visitor education and allocation of funding are key to tackle overtourism.