A multidimensional review of tourism crowding: integrating the dimensions of perception, experience, destination, management, and responses

This review synthesizes emerging literature on tourism crowding by organizing findings into five dimensions: perception, experience, destination, management, and response. Crowding perception highlights the subjective nature of tourists’ discomfort, shaped by cognitive and emotional evaluations. Crowding experience examines real-time emotional and behavioral engagement, emphasizing adaptive behaviors and changing preferences. Crowding destination addresses structural factors such as seasonality and infrastructure, thereby promoting spatial dispersion and sustainable planning. Crowding management emphasizes adaptive, technology-enabled strategies, including real-time monitoring, dynamic pricing, and stakeholder collaboration. Tourist responses reveal behavioral adjustments, changes in travel schedules, and policy implications. These five dimensions offer a comprehensive understanding of crowding, informing resilient, inclusive, and emotionally attuned strategies for sustainable tourism management.