Powerful ways of (not) knowing New Urban Tourism conflicts. Thin problematisation as limitation for tourism governance in Berlin

Abstract

Governance habits of (not) knowing tourism conflicts predetermine options to act upon conflict-laden New Urban Tourism. Using Berlin as a case, the power of rendering tourism conflicts doable is empirically reconstructed in terms of various ‘thin problematisations’ mobilised by destination governance actors. In order to align doable problems and viable solutions—so the argument goes—Berlin’s municipal tourism governance builds on different knowledge formats (statistics, media statements, myths, concept work). The chapter argues that maintaining ‘thin problematisations’ of tourism conflicts limits a more far-reaching understanding and governance of (possibly unsolvable) contradictions of New Urban Tourism. Nevertheless, it is assumed that the complexity of New Urban Tourism inevitably needs to be reduced in order to be known and governed. Instead of relapsing into simplifications regarding (new urban) tourism conflicts, a further discussion of academic and more practice-related ways of knowing tourism problems is needed. To jointly venture into research co-operations with epistemic partners from tourism research and urban practice might help to gradually establish a more complex understanding of tourism frictions.