“You’re All Welcome!” Citizens’ Attitudes Towards Touristification in a post-European Capital of Culture

Abstract

This article analyzes citizens’ attitudes toward touristification by examining how local residents of Sibiu/Hermannstadt, the former European Capital of Culture in Romania, perceive the positive and negative effects of increased tourism. Using an original dataset from a 2023 sociological survey (N = 923), the analysis reveals an overwhelmingly positive view of tourism, which is considered beneficial for the city's image and the local economy. However, the results also indicate concerns about the rapid increase in tourism and its potential negative effects. Through a multiple linear regression analysis, the article explores the characteristics and social attitudes that shape local residents’ negative assessments of tourist development in their town. The results suggest that negative attitudes toward touristification stem from residents’ dissatisfaction with economic agents' largely unregulated practices within a state-driven neoliberal model of touristic development that challenges the protection of local cultural heritage