Overtourism and tourismphobia at a Russian resort

Abstract

The paper investigates the existence of overtourism and tourismphobia in Sochi, a leading Russian resort destination, through a sample of 2,390 residents. The analysis of respondents’ attitudes towards tourism reveals that there are no severe problems of overtourism or tourismphobia. Currently, a large number of tourists in the destination are not causing any negative feedback from the majority of residents. At the same time, although conflict situations rarely occurred, they hint at some tension between residents and guests of the city.