Destinations During and After the Lockdown: Evidence from Venice, Italy

Abstract

Sustainable tourism development has become a central objective of almost all destination management strategies, whether they are dealing with natural or urban destinations. The over-tourism debate has clearly contributed hugely to this shift in the focus of destination management: from tourism as a means to boost economic development to tourism as a key instrument to enhance the wellbeing of the local population and local entrepreneurs. Although the COVID-19 crisis disrupted the continuous process of growing tourism demand that we got used to before 2020, it has not fundamentally changed the essence of the over-tourism debate and the consequences it has for destination management. In fact, the question of how to use public tourism spaces and public facilities of destinations that cater to the needs of locals, of local firms, and of visitors in a smarter way has become more pressing than ever before. This chapter intends to investigate the relationship between sustainable tourism and the destination management strategy, using the iconic case of Venice, Italy, as a continuous point of reference. Major attention will be paid to the consequences of the lockdown, particularly severe in Italy, to the local economy and society, and to the impact this lockdown has had on the strategy of Venice to finally start to deal with the unsustainability of tourism development.