During the first few months of the Covid19 pandemic in 2020, public attention suddenly shifted from the problems caused by overtourism in cities, to the almost total absence of tourism mobilities. Tourism academics, industry, and activists thus started to debate whether the path towards recovery would involve a return to the old “normal” or a transformation towards a more sustainable paradigm (Ateljevic, 2020). In this paper, drawing on qualitative research conducted in London and Paris between July 2020 and June 2021, we explore this question, particularly looking at whether new forms of localised tourism developed as a result of the pandemic, how these were nurtured and encouraged by the tourism industry in London and Paris, and the consequences these shifts may have on the future of tourism in the two cities. The research consisted of an online Delphi study, followed by in-depth one-to-one interviews with selected stakeholders, and complemented by the analysis of media / policy documents. According to our findings, throughout the pandemic tourism sustainability gained attention; however, the crisis did not bring about the sustainable revolution some stakeholders predicted. Nonetheless, in both cities, tourism marketing adopted a new ‘‘hyperlocal’’ approach with the objective of encouraging proximity tourism and involving local residents in the touristic exploration of their own city. In this paper, we also discuss whether this shift in attitude was only a temporary solution to mobility restrictions, or a positive transformation towards new forms of urban tourism, away from old, unsustainable, tourism models.

Dr Ilaria Pappalepore and Prof. Maria Gravari-Barbas
School of Architecture and Cities, University of Westminster (London); IREST, EIREST, University Paris 1 Panthe´on-Sorbonne (Paris).

 
ID Abstract: 266