Overtourism and travel behaviours of Gen Z in Venice

Abstract

The effects of excessive tourism are starting to be perceived in many destinations around the world, ranging from environmental degradation to the displacement of locals. Furthermore, overtourism may also have negative consequences on the visitors' perceptions of a destination and their desire to visit. The goal of this dissertation is to understand how overtourism affects Gen Z's travel behaviour and explore their readiness to adopt more responsible and sustainable alternatives. Venice, one of the most cited examples of overtourism, was chosen for the study’s context. The research method employed was a qualitative one. Six key themes emerged from the Leximancer’s analysis of the 19 conducted interviews, namely “people”, “place”, “travel”, “problem”, “sustainable” and “water”. Results found that this generation is aware that overtourism is a global problem but is still not willing to stop travelling to popular destinations. In Venice, the most concerning aspect appears to be the water quality, alongside with the impact overtourism has on the lives of locals. Surprisingly, contrary to existing literature, Gen Z does not consider sustainability concerns when selecting the travel destination. The goal of the research was to provide insights to marketeers and tourism operators on this group of travellers. This study contributes also to the existing literature by extending the research to a new age group and to determine their perceptions.

Date of Award	31 Jan 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Helena Rodrigues (Supervisor)