Volume 16, Issue 3 - Special issue: Nachwuchsheft

Zusammenfassung Vor dem Hintergrund der zentralen Rolle von Instagram als Informationsquelle in der Generation Z untersucht diese Studie den Einfluss der Social Media Plattform auf die Imagebildung der Destination Cappadocia (Kappadokien) und die Auswirkungen dieses Images auf eine potentielle Besuchsabsicht innerhalb dieser Generation. Mittels eines quasi-experimentellen Untersuchungsdesigns wurde festgestellt, dass bildbasierte Instagram-Beiträge das kognitive und affektive Destinationsimage von Cappadocia positiv beeinflussen, allerdings die Wahrnehmung nur in der affektiven Dimension signifikant positiver ausfällt als in der Vergleichsgruppe (textbasierte Auszüge von Wikivoyage). Obwohl die Studie keine signifikanten Unterschiede in der Besuchsabsicht zwischen den Gruppen nachweisen konnte, zeigen die Ergebnisse signifikant stärkere Zusammenhänge zwischen einer positiven Wahrnehmung des Destinationsimages auf Instagram und der potentiellen Absicht, Cappadocia zu besuchen. Die Ergebnisse betonen die Relevanz von Instagram in der Reiseinspirations- und -informationsphase bei der Generation Z. Instagram fungiert als bedeutender externer Stimulus-Faktor für die Imagebildung und abgeleitete Destinationsentscheidung.

This contribution investigates overtourism perceptions among residents in a rural German destination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a qualitative approach, it examines the impact of these perceptions on residents’ quality of life and subjective well-being in the Allgäu. As international travel declined due to pandemic-induced travel restrictions, domestic tourism surged, potentially foreshadowing effects of a net-zero transformation in global tourism on rural proximity destinations. Semi-structured interviews with 12 residents reveal that most respondents perceived tourism levels as excessive, negatively impacting their subjective well-being. Changed spatio-temporal visitor behavior patterns, with tourists venturing into previously less frequented areas, often felt intrusive to locals. This shift in tourism dynamics from urban hotspots to rural destinations challenges the notion that overtourism disappeared during the pandemic. Notably, the contribution introduces subjective well-being as a reliable indicator for overtourism and explores a novel notion of overtourism resulting from the interrelationship between perception, subjective well-being, and attitudes. The findings suggest that increased proximity tourism, while reducing carbon footprints, may lead to perceived overtourism and declining tourism acceptance in substitute destinations. The study underscores the necessity for participatory destination management approaches that balance sustainability goals with resident well-being to facilitate a broader sustainability transition in tourism.

A shift in travel behavior is taking place within urban tourism. Experienced repeat visitors want to discover cities away from tourist centers and traditional attractions. They want to gain insights into everyday life in the city and explore it off the beaten track. This phenomenon is called New Urban Tourism (NUT). This paper aims to determine whether NUT is a noteworthy phenomenon in Munich. For this purpose, three research questions were formulated. A qualitative content analysis of travel blog entries about insider tips in Munich was conducted to answer the research questions. The goal was to identify the two insider tips that were most often mentioned. Here, face-to-face interviews with tourists and residents were conducted. The tourists were asked questions about their travel and information behavior to determine whether they could be classified as New Urban Tourists. The residents, in contrast, were asked to indicate whether they notice the presence of tourists and how this influences their perception of the neighborhood. NUT can be described as a notable phenomenon in the city of Munich. Recommendations for future research include examining the impact of NUT on Munich and identifying the specific aspects of urban ordinariness that New Urban Tourists deem worth experiencing.