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Case Study 5: A Paradox of the UNESCO “World Heritage” Label? The Case of the Way of St James of Compostela in France

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Overtourism

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to highlight the paradox of labeling in the tourism field, and this, in the perspective of sustainable tourism. Indeed, if the label helps to save tourist sites by a lack of notoriety and therefore attendance, it causes inconvenience related to overtourism. This is particularly the case of the “World Heritage of UNESCO” label. In fact, by definition the tourist sites benefiting from this label are fragile or even threatened, but the labeling can generate an over-satisfaction damaging to the sustainability of the site in question. Obtaining the label for this tourist destination has allowed to revive an ancestral heritage born in tenth century, but at the same time engendered nuisances related to over-frequentation by tourists and pilgrims to the point of running the risk of a denaturation of the spirit of this pilgrimage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ESC Pau Business School, Pau, France

    Frédéric Dosquet

  2. Kedge Business School Bordeaux, Talence, France

    Thierry Lorey

  3. Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers Paris, Paris, France

    Stéphane Bourliataux-Lajoinie

  4. Abat Oliba CEU University, Barcelona, Spain

    Josep Lluís del Olmo Arriaga

Authors
  1. Frédéric Dosquet
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  2. Thierry Lorey
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  3. Stéphane Bourliataux-Lajoinie
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  4. Josep Lluís del Olmo Arriaga
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frédéric Dosquet .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Business School, University of Winchester, Winchester, UK

    Hugues Séraphin

  2. AFG College, University of Aberdeen, Doha, Qatar

    Tatiana Gladkikh

  3. Excelia Group, La Rochelle Business School, La Rochelle, France

    Tan Vo Thanh

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Dosquet, F., Lorey, T., Bourliataux-Lajoinie, S., del Olmo Arriaga, J.L. (2020). Case Study 5: A Paradox of the UNESCO “World Heritage” Label? The Case of the Way of St James of Compostela in France. In: Séraphin, H., Gladkikh, T., Vo Thanh, T. (eds) Overtourism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42458-9_15

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