Development of city tourism and well-being of urban residents: A case of German Magic Cities

Abstract

Many cities consider development of cultural tourism as opportunity to sustain employment and economic growth of the area. However, increasing tourists’ flows affect local economies and lives of local residents in a number of ways, not excluding negative effects. Careful consideration of benefits and pitfalls of the development of city tourism is necessary in order to sustain balanced urban development. In the present article, we evaluate experience of tourism development in 10 German cities—capitals of German cultural tourism. Our analysis is focused on the effect of city tourism on the well-being of urban residents. To address this issue, we study the effect of tourists’ nights spent in the centers of cultural tourism on the satisfaction with life of urban residents. Based on the results of the study, we suggest policy implications for the development of urban tourism that leads to improvements of the quality of life of locals.