Overtourism and the Visitor Experience Crisis: Evidence from Five Flagship Attractions in China

Li, Ziming and Jamaludin, Muhammad Ikhwan (2027) Overtourism and the Visitor Experience Crisis: Evidence from Five Flagship Attractions in China. MODERN GEOGRÁFIA, 22 (1). pp. 15-36. ISSN 2062-1655 (In Press)

Preview

Text New Visitor.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

This paper investigates a governance paradox: hard visitor caps and compulsory reservation systems are intended to protect heritage and ensure crowd safety, yet they can trigger a visitor-experience crisis when introduced reactively during peak-demand surges. Using China’s 2025 National Day Golden Week as an event window, we conduct a comparative, event-based qualitative study of five flagship attractions representing diverse site types and constraints (the Palace Museum/Forbidden City, Mount Huangshan, Gulangyu/Kulangsu Island, Jiuzhaigou Valley, and Hangzhou West Lake). Evidence is triangulated from official management announcements and operational notices (e.g., quotas, realname ticketing, timed entry, and traffic controls), as well as from publicly visible visitor reactions documented through credible reporting and destination-facing information channels. Directed content analysis and cross-case synthesis reveal four recurring mechanisms through which caps reshape the visitor journey: (1) access scarcity and perceived unfairness, (2) persistent bottlenecks and queue spillovers despite numerical limits, (3) time pressure and operational frictions that “thin” on-site engagement, and (4) a narrative shift from iconic experience branding to crisis-management framing. We show that caps improve the visitor experience only when embedded in an integrated governance package that combines transparent allocation, real-time monitoring and adjustment, dispersal design, and feedback loops translating visitor sentiment into actionable indicators.

Actions (login required)

View Item