The main objectives of this study were: To examine the antecedents and consequences of overtourism. To assess the effectiveness of deterrent mechanisms employed by tourism destinations. To identify the role of consumers’ prior knowledge on their tourism behavior.

Overtourism is a growing problem in European cities due to the uncontrolled development and poor management of the tourism industry. These factors have led to a multitude of negative outcomes for key stakeholders in the industry, but especially destinations and their residents. This bachelor’s thesis discusses the existing literature on overtourism in Europe through a comprehensive literature review and overviews a study conducted for reducing the phenomenon. The literature review encompasses both previous research on overtourism and related concepts, and the theoretical grounding of the deterrent theory and prior knowledge research. The study was conducted with consideration of the deterrent theory. Three tourism deterrents were selected and developed to be tested for their effectiveness in reducing tourism intention. Studies of the impact of prior knowledge were also consulted and included as a factor in the study to attempt to identify its role in tourism intention. The study aimed to complement previous research on overtourism by providing concrete solutions to the phenomenon.

The study conducted for this thesis concluded that three deterrent mechanisms are effective in reducing tourism intention and therefore may reduce overtourism levels in destinations which implement them. These three deterrent mechanisms included:

•The introduction of a lottery system for entrance to popular locations, •the introduction of a tourist-tax on applicable products and services •and the branding of destinations for special interest tourists (SIT).

These deterrent mechanisms were found to be significantly effective both against no deterrent and individually significant with varying effectiveness. Also concluded was that prior knowledge of had no significant effect on the effectiveness of the deterrent mechanism. These conclusions provide useful information and tools for destinations facing overtourism.