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Demarketing Tourism for Sustainability: Degrowing Tourism or Moving the Deckchairs on the Titanic?

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  • C. Michael Hall

    (Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
    Department of Service Management and Service Studies, Lund University, Campus Helsingborg, 25108 Helsingborg, Sweden
    Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland
    Ekonomihögskolan, Linnéuniversitet, Universitetskajen, Landgången 6, 39182 Kalmar, Sweden)

  • Kimberley J. Wood

    (Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand)

Abstract

Demarketing is generally recognized as that aspect of marketing that aims at discouraging customers in general or a certain class of customers in particular on either a temporary or permanent basis and has been increasingly posited as a potential tool to degrow tourism and improve its overall sustainability, particularly as a result of so-called overtourism. The paper provides an overview of the various ways in which demarketing has been applied in a tourism context and assesses the relative value of demarketing as a means of contributing to sustainability and degrowing tourism. It is argued that demarketing can make a substantial contribution to degrowing tourism at a local or even regional scale, but that the capacity to shift visitation in space and time also highlights a core weakness with respect to its contribution at other scales. The paper concludes by noting that the concept of degrowth also needs to be best understood as a continuum of which demarketing is only one aspect.

Suggested Citation

  • C. Michael Hall & Kimberley J. Wood, 2021. "Demarketing Tourism for Sustainability: Degrowing Tourism or Moving the Deckchairs on the Titanic?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:3:p:1585-:d:492029
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir & C. Michael Hall & Þorkell Stefánsson, 2019. "Senses by Seasons: Tourists’ Perceptions Depending on Seasonality in Popular Nature Destinations in Iceland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Larry Dwyer, 2023. "Tourism Degrowth: Painful but Necessary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-23, October.
    2. Umut Gülşen & Hüseyin Yolcu & Pelin Ataker & İlke Erçakar & Sevil Acar, 2021. "Counteracting Overtourism Using Demarketing Tools: A Logit Analysis Based on Existing Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Arlindo Madeira & Teresa Palrão & Alexandra Sofia Mendes & Ernesto López-Morales, 2021. "Perceptions about Tourism and Tourists in Historic Neighborhoods: The Case of Alfama," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-14, July.
    4. Myung Ja Kim & C. Michael Hall & Mark Bonn, 2021. "Does International Travel Frequency Affect COVID-19 Biosecurity Behavior in the United States?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-17, April.

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