*3.2. Methodology*

Recently, the use of social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) has become obvious, allowing us to share thoughts or multimedia content and to create a wide interaction among users.

In this paper we propose a new approach to assess the local populations' degree of dissatisfaction with tourism flow through the analysis of the social network content.

The proposed procedure is divided into 8 steps:

	- Activity metrics: KPIs measuring the page activity level (such as the number of posts, temporal frequency, and the recency of posting activity)
	- Interaction metrics: KPIs measuring the level of interaction between posts and users (the number of comments, reactions, and shares).
	- a. Within the selected social networks, the "*angry*" reactions related to tourist protests (A) should be picked and separated from the rest (the total number of posts with "*angry*" reactions) (B);
	- b. Calculate the functions *A* = *f*(*x*) and *B* = *z*(*x*) of reactions A and B over time (days/months) for each year (*n* = *a*, *a*+1, ... , *N*);

c. Calculate the integrals *TAa e TAb* of the functions *f*(*x*) and *z*(*x*) for each *N* year;

$$TA\_d = \int\_{a}^{a+1} f(\mathbf{x}) \, d\mathbf{x} \tag{1}$$

$$TA\_b = \int\_{a}^{a+1} z(\mathbf{x}) \, d\mathbf{x} \tag{2}$$


$$I\_{ins} = \frac{TA\_a}{TA\_{aR}}\tag{3}$$

Thus, we can compute the dissatisfaction "C.1.2 index modified" without using surveys; we use the *followers'* reaction to obtain a quantitative value of the level of disaffection of local citizens vis-à-vis mass tourism in their cities. This value reflects the citizens' real opinions and can be analysed and compared over time.

## **4. Results**

### *4.1. Case Study—Granada*

The case study on which we have focused, as part of the research effort carried out within the European financed project H2020/MSCA/RISE2017/Warmest, is the city of Granada in Spain, which is among the most visited Spanish cities due to the Alhambra [22]. This monumental complex is located on a rocky hill on the banks of the River Darro. In the XIII century, the Nasrid kingdom was established and the first palace was built by the founder King Mohammed ibn Yusuf ben Nasr. In the XIII, XIV, and XV centuries, the fortress consisted of two main areas: the military area (Alcazaba) and the medina where there are the famous Nasrid Palaces and the remains of the houses of noblemen and plebeians. In the 1492, Catholic kings took the Alhambra, and later on the emperor Carlos V built a palace there. The complex also consists of the Generalife, a palace surrounded by orchards and gardens [23].

The monumental complex of the Alhambra and the Generalife has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984 and is Granada's main tourist destination, although not the only one. As history shows, the Alhambra has always been the core of the city of Granada. It was first a military and commercial resource, and today it is an economic resource for the large number of tourists it attracts. Figure 1 shows the annual trend of tourists visiting the Alhambra and Generalife. From 1991 to 2018 their number increased to almost 3 million.

On the other hand, Figure 2 shows the average monthly distribution of visitors from 1991 to 2018. In terms of tourist flow, years may be divided into three different seasons: a low, a medium, and a high one. The low season includes January, February, November, and December (22% of the annual flow). The medium season includes March, June, and July (27% of the annual flow). The high season includes April, May, August, September, and October (51% of the annual flow).

**Figure 2.** Average monthly trend of tourists (2000 to 2018) [24].

According to official data, the resident population in Granada is 232,000 inhabitants [25] and tourists are more than 4.5 million [22]. The latest annual Exceltur report (Alliance for Excellency in Tourism) shows how tourist pressure in Granada is the highest of the 15 most visited destinations in Spain [26]. The report states that "*the main factor determining the increase in tourist pressure in Spanish cities is the transformation of housing into tourist accommodation. In fact, in cities where there has been a greater social response to tourism are those with a significant percentage of tourist accommodation*".

In Granada, 55% of tourists choose to stay in apartments found through peer-to-peer hosting, such as Airbnb. The remaining 45% still choose "traditional" accommodation in hotels and hostels.

*Homesharing* platforms have become very powerful tools for the development, increase in incomes, and the promotion of tourist destinations; at the same time, they have brought significant disadvantages when used in an unregulated manner. As in many cities in Europe, in Granada citizens move from the old town to the so-called *new towns* [27], pushed by the increase in nightlife, restaurants, souvenir shops, and city traffic. In addition, there is a growing trend in flat owners to invest in their apartments and transform them into tourist accommodation to receive a profit from them. The result of the rise in the number of apartments for homesharing is an increase in the price of rents, which tends to keep the local population even further away.

One of the most famous neighbourhoods of Granada is the Albayzin, located on a hill opposite the Alhambra and separated from it by the Darro River. It is characterized by narrow winding streets built during its Medieval Moorish period dating back to the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, along with the Alhambra. The socio-economic activities of the Albayzin district consist of typical North African shops with restaurants and small shops selling Moroccan goods (carpets, fabrics, jewellery, and coloured lamps). In recent years, most of the apartments in the neighbourhood have been converted into tourist apartments, losing their original social characteristics.

Nevertheless, Granada should not be considered as a case by itself but rather a good, though not extreme, case study of a tourist pressed city. In Italy, this phenomenon is even more serious in various venues. In Florence and Venice, the ratio among tourists and residents is even higher, at 26 and 45, respectively, which means that for each resident there are 26 tourists in Florence and 45 tourists in

Venice [28–30]. Historical cities live a seemingly unstoppable process of "*Disneyfication*" [31]. The New York Times also defined Venice as "*Disney on the sea*" [5] because it is invaded by tourists from all over the world attracted by a venue that today is crushed by noise and landscape pollution.

Generally speaking, historic centres are undergoing a transformation process and are increasingly adapted to the needs of tourists and decreasingly to the citizens' ones. Therefore, the risks are the loss of identity and the progressive abandonment of the historical centre [32].
