Tourist spending directly or indirectly generates jobs and income for the local population (Dwyer et al., 2004), whether they are natives of the destination or not, permanent or seasonal. Assessing the interrelations between tourism and residents cannot, however, be reduced to an accounting approach but must propose a broader social approach, raise the question of “cultural benefits” (Besculides et al., 2002), question the well-being of resident populations (Dwyer, 2023), and consider their inclusion. 

 

Academic literature has highlighted the contrasting effects of tourism on residents (MacCannell, 2016 ; Delaplace et Simon, 2017 ; Crozat et Alves, 2018; Gravari-Barbas et Jacquot, 2013) and on their perceptions of this activity (Sharpley, 2014; Šegota et al., 2022) or as a tool for economic enhancement (Lévi et al., 2022), particularly in the most visited tourist regions, from the islands of Europe's coastal areas (Dupé et al., 2021) to the great East African Parks (Aragau and Rouget, 2021). This is also the case during major sporting events, with changes in behavior and perceptions regarding the influx of tourists (Hall 1991; Hall 1992; Olds, 1998), which raises the question of the space granted to residents, as during specific editions of the Summer Olympics where residents were evicted and dwellings demolished (The Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, 1989; Hall and Hodges, 1996; Olds, 1998), or when marginalized populations are excluded to maintain the image of the destination (Zmihi, 2011; Théry, 2016, Vico, 2020).

In addition, public opinion, particularly in the aftermath of the global pandemic, has become concerned about the effects of over-visiting or over-tourism, leading to increased media coverage of the issue (Knafou, 2023). The effects of overcrowding seem to take several forms, from saturation of space (Hristov et al., 2021) to saturation of the housing supply (Brunstein et al., 2023). Citizen participation can be one of the tools for involving residents and regulating conflicts (Harrill, 2004).

 

However, tourism, a global phenomenon, can be a vector of openness and dynamism in and for territories. While residents play a crucial role as actors in the enhancement and attractiveness of places (Huo et al., 2023), tourism, combined with leisure activities, is a powerful heritage-building machine (Fagnoni, 2013). In regions in crisis, tourism represents one of the levers of redevelopment that can save lives (Fagnoni, 2004; Rieutort, 2007). This heritage, combined with organizing events inviting tourists to the destination, such as a music festival, creates local pride (de Quadros et al., 2024), which residents uphold. Regional players, sometimes international (UNESCO, IUCN), and residents join forces in formal or informal cooperative ventures, often decisive for the area's attractiveness. 

 

Examining the links between tourism and residents requires a fresh approach. This approach should investigate cases of conflict (in the negative sense), cohabitation (in the neutral sense), and cooperation (in the positive sense) through interactions between resident populations, tourists, and local or non-local tourism players (public or private). 

 

This need for a broader approach to studying the links between tourism and residents is the aim of the 14th edition of the AsTRES international symposium. The colloquium will feature papers from various disciplines (planning, geography, management, history, economics, sociology, management science, urban planning, etc.), using multiple complementary methods. 

 

There are several avenues to explore. However, the scientific committee is open to any other proposals. These include: 

• Land and housing issues (eviction, relegation vs. protection, etc.); 

• Competition between residents and visitors, including in terms of territoriality, but also between local populations and newcomers, including in terms of capturing jobs and through the question of the future of newcomers; 

• Conflicts structured around environmental issues, from major projects sometimes driven by local populations opposed to environmentalists from all walks of life, to the dynamics imposed by the protection of natural areas;

• Complementarities and competition between pre-existing activities and tourism, or within the tourism offer itself, with particular attention paid to the relationship between formal and informal activities;   

• Regulatory and management policies, proposals and practices, sometimes deployed at state or local level; 

• Local perceptions of tourism;

• Tourism's economic effects (costs and benefits), whether direct, indirect or induced, and economic leakage from tourism; 

• The role of heritage and local imagination in tourism development; 

• Inclusive public policies and destination management strategies ; 

• Participatory tourism ;

• Inequalities in spatial distribution ;

• And more.