It's time to act! Understanding online resistance against tourism development projects

Resistance against tourism development has become a key analytical domain among tourism researchers. Yet, little attention has been paid to understanding online resistance against tourism development as a discursive phenomenon. This inquiry provides a discourse analytical study regarding an online petition against a large-scale infrastructure project in the Austrian Alps. Employing an analytical framework of discursive objects, subjects, and concepts, the study investigates the justification strategies of activists, posted on the online petition platform. The study finds that activists' rationales are embedded within an overarching degrowth discourse. The conflict exists between the opposing subjectivities of activists and project initiators with nature as their primary discursive object. Activist rationales were found to criticize the growth imperative of capitalism in broad strokes, rather than directly addressing the project and its proponents.

Automated summary

Resistance against tourism development has become a significant aspect of tourism research. However, little attention has been given to online resistance against tourism development. This study examines an online petition against a large-scale infrastructure project in the Austrian Alps and analyzes the justification strategies employed by activists. The findings reveal that activists' rationales are embedded in a broader degrowth discourse, highlighting the conflict between the opposing perspectives of activists and project initiators regarding nature as a primary discourse object.