Overtourism : the negative impacts of domestic beach tourism on the residents of Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract EN

Overtourism is a phenomenon that has spread in many popular destinations such as Venice, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, and Amsterdam, and has been greatly aggravated, leading to demonstrations and protests by residents.

Despite the increasing importance of this issue, overtourism is not a new phenomenon.

Since the 60s, some authors have mentioned the negative impacts of the increasing tourist demand on residents in many destinations.

The aim of this research is to investigate the negative impacts of tourism on the local community in order to provide some recommendations to improve the local residents' quality of life and as a result decrease anti-tourism sentiments and increase the quality of tourist experience in Alexandria.

The interview conducted with the director of the Administration Center for Tourism and Summer Resorts and the questionnaire distributed among the residents, reflect their feedback concerning the unwanted behaviors of local tourists who come from the different governorates of Egypt to Alexandria during the summer months to spend their holidays on the beaches, as well as the damage resulting from the excessive number of tourists on the infrastructure and the beaches.

In addition, the findings approved that most of the residents prefer to take their holidays outside Alexandria.

Finally, the research provides a variety of recommendations suggested to avoid the negative impacts on the local community and to raise the awareness of domestic tourists.