Analysing user-generated overtourism posts on social media: a content analysis

Overtourism is an increasing concern for destinations seeking to accommodate visitor growth while protecting residents’ quality of life and long-term sustainability. Yet, how overtourism is represented through user-generated social media content remains underexplored. Drawing on destination image theory, this study analyses 600 Instagram posts tagged #overtourism to examine the visual themes, attraction types, sentiment, and thematic framing associated with overtourism. A structured content-analysis framework was used to code the posts, followed by statistical tests to examine relationships among the identified categories. Geotagged posts were concentrated mainly in Europe, particularly Italy and Spain. Heritage and religious sites were more often associated with extreme crowding and negative sentiment, whereas natural attractions generally showed limited visible crowding. Caption framing showed a stronger association with sentiment than attraction type. Posts proposing visitor-management solutions were framed more positively than those advocating regulatory measures or changes in individual behaviour. The study extends destination image research by examining how overtourism is portrayed and evaluated through user-generated content.