Visitor Experience at Popular Attractions in Stockholm: Interpreting TripAdvisor Reviews Through the Lens of Overtourism

This thesis examines visitor experiences at popular attractions in Stockholm, Sweden, through the lens of overtourism. Focusing on a destination where overtourism is not generally acknowledged as a problem, the study explores whether early signs of visitor pressure can be identified through visitors’ own interpretations of their experiences at popular attractions. The study is based on a qualitative content analysis of 778 TripAdvisor reviews describing visits to seven attractions that took place between November 2024 and October 2025. Recurring themes in the reviews were identified and interpreted in relation to overtourism indicators discussed in existing literature. The findings indicate that themes related to visitor pressure, such as perceived crowding and long queues, consistently emerge across the analyzed attractions. However, these experiences are primarily situational and time-dependent rather than constant or structural. Visitor pressure is most often linked to specific times, peak periods, events, or spatial bottlenecks, and frequently coexists with positive overall evaluations when the experience is perceived as valuable. When expectations are not met, crowding and waiting times become more salient sources of dissatisfaction. The analysis further shows that perceived visitor pressure manifests differently across attraction settings, without suggesting clear differences in overtourism risk. The study contributes to theory by advancing the understanding of overtourism from a visitor experience perspective and by showing how user-generated content can be used to examine socio-psychological tourism demand capacity. From a practical perspective, the findings illustrate how qualitative analysis of online reviews can support attraction management and destination planning by identifying early-stage forms of visitor pressure