Abstract
An increasing number of cities in Europe are confronted with the phenomenon of 'overtourism'. This implies that the carrying capacity of a city is exceeded, which can manifest itself in various ways. Well-known examples that have often been the subject of media attention are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Venice. Academic research on urban overtourism has increased in recent years. This research is embedded in many different disciplines (social sciences, tourism studies, economics,…). Often, it results in policy recommendations, of which some have a legal nature as well, meaning that they qualify as regulation of an economic activity. This project firstly aims to map the most often proposed hard law measures to counter urban overtourism. For that purpose, inspiration is sought both in literature and in practice (aspired or implemented measures in cities that suffer from overtourism or run the risk of doing so). In a second step, the researcher assesses to what extent these measures are compatible with the economic freedoms as guaranteed by EU law, with a special focus on the freedom to provide services. A third and final goal is to assess if there is a need for intervention by the EU legislature, so that the regulation of tourism as an economic activity for sustainability purposes would be both effective and lawful.
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