What is Tourist-historic City

In the last few years, the number of visitors in historic cities has grown, resulting in a situation labeled ‘overtourism'. In these tourist-historic cities, tourism is one of the main local economic foundations. This chapter asks whether the social carrying capacity of the host community has been exceeded, through a case study in Toledo, Spain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. The methodology employed is a survey to residents in the city. The main findings show that the residents do not perceive the overtourism situation in the city as something serious. However, some impacts such as the historic centre becoming a museum for tourists, or the traffic congestion derived from overcrowding in both the traffic and pedestrian flow are clearly perceived by the host community. It is the residents in the historic centre those who manifest a more negative opinion of touristic development. This chapter may be of interest to academics, decision makers, and those responsible for tourism in historic cities.