The future of nighttime tourism: More than challenges

Abstract

According to the latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), an estimated 975 million tourists travelled internationally between January and September 2023, being on track to recover almost 90% of pre-pandemic levels. In a growing number of tourism destinations (especially cities, and coastal and insular destinations), nightlife, including music, cultural or light festivals, is an increasingly important element in the selection process of destinations by tourists. For a not inconsiderable number of tourists, evening and nighttime leisure and cultural activities are the central element in the selection of their vacation destination. In this sense, the current boom of nighttime tourism as key strategy for urban branding and destination marketing is growing all over the world, as already pointed out in the introduction to this book as well as throughout the chapter. Thus, it would not be risky to affirm that this boom would seem to indicate the emergence of a golden age of nighttime tourism. However, there are different challenges of greater or lesser magnitude that place the development of nightlife tourism in an uncertain situation amidst an increasingly turbulent world. Thus, such a golden age might not be as golden as it seems. This epilogue aims to shortly present some reflective notes on each of these challenges, especially but not only affecting Europe’s urban areas and coastal tourism destinations. On the other hand, although this epilogue focuses mainly on the interaction between the nightlife industry and the tourism industry, the set of reflections presented below are also valid for other activities that are important for the development of nighttime tourism – such as light festivals and/or other outdoor cultural activities carried out by tourists and visitors at night. Furthermore, what we intend to do in this epilogue is to present these challenges as potential key points for a future interdisciplinary research agenda on nighttime tourism.