The concept of resilience has gained momentum in current tourism research, yet there are still flaws and discrepancies between the many notions applied in the field. These limitations are further evident when we focus on tourist destinations. The aim of this article is to advance the conceptualization of destination resilience through a multilevel perspective (MLP) that frames landscape, regime, niche, and actors as integrated elements of the tourism system. The resulting framework encompasses ecological, socioecological, sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and sociotechnological dimensions reflecting the embeddedness of resilience among heterogeneous and potentially complementary destination stakeholders. It is argued that the use of the MLP advances the understanding of tourism destination planning, particularly in contexts coping with gradual as well as drastic changes due to both demand fluctuations and supply-side disturbances.

Despite its theorization in the political and policy sciences in the early 1990s, the concept of metagovernance has gained relatively little recognition in tourism studies. Nevertheless, its significance in the political sciences and policy literature, especially as a result of the perceived failure of governance systems following the recent global financial crisis, has only served to reinforce its relevance. Metagovernance addresses some of the perceived failures of traditional governance approaches and associated interventions, and has enabled the understanding of central-state led regimes of shadowed hierarchical authorities and local-level micro-practices of social innovation and self-government. In contrast, tourism studies have tended to restrict study of the political dimension of tourism governance and the role of the state under the traditional parallelism between government and governance. Examination of how governance is itself governed enables a better understanding of the practices of planning and policy making affecting tourism and destinations. In particular, the applications of concepts of governance are inextricably linked to a given set of value assumptions which predetermine the range of its application. A short example of the application of the metagovernance paradigm is provided from the New Zealand context. It is concluded that governance mechanisms are not value-neutral and instead serve to highlight the allocation of power in a destination and the dominance of particular values and interests.

Tourism and Resilience by C. Michael Hall, Girish Prayag, Alberto Amore

The 2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis profoundly impacted the housing markets, particularly of the so-called PIGS countries. Main cities in Portugal, Italy and Greece have seen a sharp decrease in house prices and rent value since 2010. At the same time, the rise of Airbnb has contributed to the reframing of housing market demand in cities, with an increase of temporary lettings in prime urban tourist areas. Understandably, this has direct implications for local residents, with renters’ displacement, tourism gentrification and raising cases of tourismphobia. This article provides insights from three cities – Athens, Lisbon and Milan – to show how the dynamics in the housing market and the boost of Airbnb over the last decade are steadily changing the urban populations of the aforementioned cities. This research builds upon the rent gap theory and the Luke’s’ Power Theory to illustrate how Airbnb is fostering a new form of urban displacement at a faster rate than traditional housing gentrification, with the renting of prime residential areas to tourists.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide a series of indicators to determine the limits to urban tourism growth, tourism gentrification and overtourism. The study addresses overtourism within the frame of urban liveability through a proxy analysis of tourism-relevant indicators for major European tourist cities. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the various indicators, a composite overtourism indicator is derived. The following dimensions are considered for the composite indicator: total number of overnight stays per relevant tourist area in km ² ; number of museum visitors per population; average annual change in total nights between 2009 and 2017; and foreign nights per population. Findings: Based on the results, Venice is the city with the highest degree of overtourism, followed by Florence, Seville and Lisbon. The remaining cities have a lower than average overtourism potential as indicated by the negative z- score. Research limitations/implications: This study and the composite overtourism indicators are only a starting point that can lead to further research in the field. Recommendations for further studies include the assessment of visitor flow and overtourism at different times of the year and to expand the study to other European urban destinations. Practical implications: The paper suggests that policymakers should use these indicators when managing urban tourism development and monitoring visitor growth. Furthermore, they can be a starting point from which to assess the impact of tourism on the quality of life of local residents. Social implications: This study provides a starting point from which to assess the causes for social unrest tied to overtourism. If the city under study is found to have a lower than average overtourism potential, this indicates that there may be other social or psychological issues at play apart from sheer overcrowding. Originality/value: To date, there has been no composite indicator that considered the different numerical aspects of overtourism altogether. This study provides a set of key indicators and a composite overtourism indicator to provide a preliminary appraisal of overtourism as a demand-side phenomenon with evidence from a range of established European urban destinations.

Decision-making in urban contexts is increasingly characterized by a depoliticized environment that has normalized neoliberal urban policies. These are further pursued in post-disaster contexts across the globe with narratives that overshadow the views and demands of the affected communities. Spatial contestation, exclusion of certain groups from key decisions and episodes of non-decision-making thus shape urban redevelopment through top-down governance. This paper provides a Lukesian narrative on post-earthquake Christchurch, where the redevelopment of the city has been characterized by a strong command-and-control rebuild agenda emanating from the national government, regardless of the feedback and criticisms from the affected community.