Overtourism Perception Scale

The Overtourism Perception Scale (OPS) measures residents' and visitors' concerns about excessive tourism, measuring crowding, environmental degradation, cultural erosion, infrastructure strain, and resulting experience quality diminishment. Rooted in carrying capacity theory (Shelby & Heberlein, 1986) and resident impact perception research (Andereck et al., 2005), the OPS operationalizes overtourism as a multifaceted phenomenon affecting both visitor experience satisfaction and community wellbeing. Overtourism is increasingly critical for destination sustainability; the OPS enables monitoring of perception trends and targeting of mitigation strategies (visitor dispersal, infrastructure investment, capacity management) before crises (resident backlash, environmental damage, reputation loss) occur.