Overtourism in global cities. Impacts, challenges and solutions
Reflect and deepen on the new urban tourism dynamics and analyze the negative impacts they are generating in cities.
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- Society, culture, heritage
- Open to
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- Bachelor's
- Master's
- Phd
- Field of studies
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- Art, Design and Media
- Social Science and humanities
- Environmental sciences, Urbanism, Geography
- Type
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- Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
- Course dates
- 27 March - 29 May 2026
- Apply by
- 30 octobre 2025 Apply now
The main objective of this course is to reflect and deepen on the new urban tourism dynamics and analyze the negative impacts they are generating in cities, as well as the possible solutions to be implemented to reconcile tourism with the maintenance of the quality of life of residents and the environment.
Main topics addressed
- analysing the theoretical framework of "overtourism" and the new urban tourist dynamics;
- exploring the spaces of touristification in cities;
- inquiring about the social, economic and cultural transformations generated by overtourism in cities;
- evaluation of the relationship between tourism and the urban environment;
- determinating the opinion that the local population has about tourism in those neighbourhoods more affected by "overtourism".
Learning outcomes
The expected learning outcomes are:
- make students understand the concept of "overtourism" and the impacts that causes in cities as well as new urban tourist dynamics through theoretical webinars and field trip;
- encourage students to meet the city’s stakeholders who work closely on aspects related to the "overtourism" and new tourist dynamics;
- encourage students to learn to work as a team through the development of collaborative work;
- to create international teaching-learning networks among CIVIS universities.
| Dates: 27 March - 29 May 2026 | Total workload: 75 hours |
| Format: Blended | ECTS: 3* |
| Location: Madrid, Spain | Language: English (B2) |
| Contact: carmen.hidalgog@uam.es |
*recognition of ECTS depends on your home university
Physical mobility
The physical mobility section of the BIP will take place between 25-29 May 2026, in Madrid, Spain, and will consist of:
- field trip: students will spend 5 days studying presently different cases connected with the topic of the course (40 hours approximately);
- self-working time: students will have a specific number of self-working time to develop a final project (15 hours approximately);
- projects presentations: student will present their project to debate the proposals among the rest of students and teaching staff (5 hours approximately).
Virtual part
The virtual part will be running from between 27 March - 22 May 2026 and will consist of a series of webinars given by the participating professors.
The objective of these seminars is for the students to obtain the necessary theoretical knowledge about the general topic of the course, which then apply to solve a specific problem in Madrid, during the physical component of the course.
Thus, the virtual part is meant to make students understand the concept of "overtourism" and the new tourism dynamics through theoretical webinars and field trip.
Assessment
There are two main assessment methods foreseen in the course:
- Virtual component: submission and approval of assignments. In each webinar there will be a task (webinar summary, open questions, questionnaire, etc.) that will have to be solved by the students. This way, students will be able to obtain theoretical knowledge that they can later apply during the physical component.
- Physical component: elaboration and presentation of a project. Students will have to carry out group work in which, applying the knowledge acquired during the webminars, they will have to solve a real problem related to "overtourism" and the new tourist dynamics in Madrid. It is about working on the resolution of specific problems.
The programme is open to students at CIVIS member universities from all academic levels (Bachelor, Master, PhD), with background in Tourism, Geography, Art History, History and/ or Environmental Science.
Critical thinking, working in groups skills, the ability to communicate complex ideas and findings effectively and the ability to reflect on ethical and equity dimensions of tourism are highly appreciated.
NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility
To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Applications for this course are only available for the 11 CIVIS member universities in Europe.
Partner universities:
- Aix-Marseille Université (France)
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
- University of Bucharest (Romania)
- University of Salzburg (Austria)
Professors
- Carmen Hidalgo-Giralt - Geography Department, UAM;
- Diego Barrado-Timón - Geography Department, UAM;
- Benjamin Wayens - Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, ULB;
- Cristian Ioja - Faculty of Geography, Regional Geography and Environment, UB;
- Gabriel Vanau - Faculty of Geography, Regional Geography and Environment, UB;
- Maxime Nicola - Laboratoire IUSTI, CNRS Aix-Marseille Université, Polytech Marseille;
- Christian Smigiel - Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg / FB Soziologie und Sozialgeographie / Abteilung Sozialwissenschaftliche Geographie;
- Antonio Herrada - Geography Department, UAM.
Send your application by filling in the online application form by 30 October 2025, and also including:
- CV
- Motivation letter.
The applications will be evaluated based on:
- Motivation to participate in the course
- Knowledge about tourism and tourism geography
GDPR Consent
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