Degrowth in tourism: The role of the Covid-19 pandemic in Barcelona.

Keywords: Degrowth, Tourism, Overtourism, Recovery
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 30

Abstract

This research studies the Degrowth & Overtourism debate in Barcelona. It discusses to what extent the developments of the Covid-19 pandemic can be classified as an opportunity or a constraint to make Barcelona's urban tourism model more growth-independent. For this purpose, the central challenges of developing a lower carbon, lower throughput, in other words a Degrowth-tourism economy, providing wellbeing both for local citizens and tourists in Barcelona are identified and the role of the Covid-19 pandemic in this regard is analyzed. The aim of the research is to provide a prognosis/development perspective for the Degrowth movement in urban tourism in the post-covid time. The methodological basis is qualitative research methods, primarily expert interviews. In the context of the stakeholder analysis, the different social and economic perspectives of the Degrowth debate in tourism in Barcelona are contrasted and classified. The case of this research is Barcelona, a city that has long been considered a prime example of growth-oriented economics in tourism, especially since the 1992 Olympic Games. However, with the growth of tourism-specific success indicators (e.g. arrivals, overnight stays), resistance to the increasing social and ecological pressure exerted by intensive tourism in the city also grew especially in the last ten years pre-covid. The research results, which outline the possibilities of a more socially and ecologically sustainable, as well as economically resilient tourism model post-covid, are intended to be exemplary for potential developments in the urban tourism industry and are thus relevant beyond the boundaries of the research subject.