Abstract
This article forms part of a classic social science debate on the role of the media in the construction of social and political narratives. The object of the paper is to study the rise and fall of the concept of tourismphobia in the Spanish media. The case is analyzed in the light of public policies studies, especially those analyzing agenda-setting, the social construction of the definition of public problems and the struggles of coalitions seeking to impose their public policy narratives in the policy-making process. With this purpose, a database was used that collected more than 11,000 news items over a substantial period of time. Its analysis reveals that media attention rises sharply after active protest actions against tourist saturation and that the term is mostly linked to specific territories and cities and to certain political figures. It also allows us to observe how some political responses to the problem appear more in the media, while others are minimized. The conclusions indicate that the “tourismphobia” neologism was capitalized on – which is often the case with terms that circulate in the public sphere – by various groups attempting to highlight some of its semantic dimensions over others. The study also reveals that the media assume an active position in the construction of discourses in relation to tourism also as a political and not just an economic issue. Furthermore, it shows that the use of the term has greatly declined, either because the problem has become dormant or because it has been reformulated into other terms that are more in line with dominant narratives.
Highlights
IntroductionIt is seen as a problem in certain places
Tourism has traditionally been perceived as an opportunity
The city of Barcelona is a paradigmatic example of this, to such an extent that the problem of tourism is part of the city’s public – or systemic – agenda, and at certain points its citizens have ranked it as the most important problem in Barcelona. It is in this urban context where the “tourismphobia” neologism was coined, and it was quickly accepted by the press, especially the Catalan press
Summary
It is seen as a problem in certain places This is true of, mainly, European urban centers with diversified economies. The city of Barcelona is a paradigmatic example of this, to such an extent that the problem of tourism is part of the city’s public – or systemic – agenda, and at certain points its citizens have ranked it as the most important problem in Barcelona. It is in this urban context where the “tourismphobia” neologism was coined, and it was quickly accepted by the press, especially the Catalan press. Social actors with an interest in tourism policy, for their part, saw both threats and opportunities around the question of tourismphobia, and participated in the public debate to try to construct a definition of the problem that would suit their needs
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