Overtourism and Resident Resistance in Budapest

The phenomenon of “overtourism” in cities is hardly a new one, however the process and nature of resistance has changed significantly in recent years. The work of Colomb and Novy 2017. Protest and Resistance in the Tourist City. London: Routledge encapsulates the manifestations of resistance in numerous cities. They argue that many of the contestations surround tourism rather than being about tourism. This paper explores resident resistance in the Hungarian capital city Budapest. This includes the rejection of the Olympic bid in 2017 and protests surrounding a controversial new development project in the city park. An uncontrolled night-time economy has also adversely affected local resident quality of life. Questionnaire data collected from both local residents and tourists as well as an analysis of Facebook sites using Sentione software will be used to illustrate the key areas of discontent. The research attempts to demonstrate that tourism is often marginal rather than central to residents’ discontent and resistance to developments.