Including Protest Voices in the Place Branding Process: Towards a Typology of Anti-Tourism Movements’ Communication in Recent Years

This study explores the online communication strategies of anti-tourism movements to evaluate their potential contributions to place branding—a topic that has received limited scholarly attention. While prior research often views such movements as antagonistic to place branding efforts, we challenge this assumption. Through an analysis of nine movements across five countries, we apply the typology developed by Neumayer and Svensson (2016) to classify these groups and examine their core claims and agendas. Theoretical Framework Rising dissatisfaction with tourism-driven urbanization has fueled the emergence of anti-tourism movements across Europe. These protests have intensified in the post-COVID-19 era, as concerns about overtourism have resurfaced in public discourse (Milano, Novelli, and Russo, 2024). These movements advocate for community rights and propose alternative tourism development agendas (Milano, Novelli, and Cheer, 2019). However, media portrayals often frame them as radical or dangerous, leading to their marginalization in policy discussions. This study explores whether such movements can offer valuable perspectives in shaping place branding. Research Approach The study investigates anti-tourism movements from Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Italy. The material was collected from the official websites of these movements and analyzed using NVivo 15. Through content analysis, we examined their claims, agendas, and perspectives on tourism urbanization, ranging from utopian to dystopian (Harvey, 2001), and cl2assified them according to Neumayer and Svensson’s (2016) framework. Key Findings Our findings offer insights into how these activist voices might be constructively integrated into the place branding process. The movements analyzed show considerable diversity. While a minority engage in radical actions (civil disobedience), the majority adopt moderate approaches and seek constructive dialogue with local stakeholders (civil obedience). Their agendas vary, including proposals for improved tourism planning, sustainable development, and in some cases, tourism degrowth. These groups also differ demographically, with some dominated by younger activists and others by older generations, many of whom study or work within tourism-related fields. Conclusions All the movements strive to represent and defend the interests of their local communities. They are composed of individuals with substantial knowledge of tourism dynamics and articulate clear visions for tourism development in their areas. This positions them as valuable actors to consider within the place branding process. Practical Implications The study proposes a typology of protest movements that can serve as a tool for place branding practitioners and tourism policymakers to identify relevant stakeholders.