The Relationship of Subjective Well-Being in Residents’ Perceptions of the Impacts of Overtourism in the City of Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Abstract

Tourism is an expanding sector, and it is one of the priorities of individuals seeking leisure. While the activity is developing rapidly, the increase in the flow of tourists in localities has interfered with the residents’ subjective well-being, generating a feeling of “excess of tourism.” Overtourism is associated with destinations that suffer from the tension of tourism when the maximum number of people who can visit a tourist destination at the same time is exceeded. Therefore, this study aims to correlate the relationship between the subjective well-being of the residents of Blumenau and the perceptions of excessive tourism in their territory of residence. To this end, a survey was carried out, with a quantitative approach with 400 residents of Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The survey results demonstrate that the subjective well-being of the autochthonous population correlates with tolerance to overtourism. Thus, the research has practical and managerial implications for tourist destinations. Managers must develop means for the subjective well-being of the population to be high, thus contributing to the decrease in the feeling of overtourism.

1. Introduction

Tourism is an essential global activity as it develops local economies, promotes the development of activity in new destinations, and motivates individuals to leave their daily territory seeking new experiences. The increase in the movement of people worldwide, as well as the strengthening of destinations as “a strong brand,” causes several impacts, including overtourism, which shows a substantial threat to places already consolidated in tourism [1,2]. Insh [2] proved this fact by arguing that, currently, two out of five European residents believe that the number of tourists represents a threat to Europe’s cultural heritage. The term overtourism is recent in academic research, it appeared in 2016, used by Skift [3], and has been increasingly disseminated and used as a focus of research due to its relevance for tourism. The Responsible Tourism Partnership [4] (p. 1), conceptualizes overtourism as “destinations where hosts or guests, locals or visitors, feel that there are too many visitors and that the quality of life in the area or the quality of the experience has deteriorated unacceptably.” Thus, there is a complexity of the consequences suffered by the most diverse agents involved within a destination, since in addition to residents, this phenomenon can also affect tourists, investors, and, consequently, the sustainability and economy of the destination [5].

Tourism can also affect the subjective well-being of residents, as it affects the other areas of their lives—economic, social, cultural, and environmental. Although the interest in the perceived impacts of tourism and the residents’ quality of life has increased, and some research on this relationship is ongoing, there are still doubts about how residents’ well-being is affected by tourists [6]. Ivlevs [7] (p.1) highlights that “understanding the effects of tourism on host populations has long been a question of primary importance for both academics and policymakers.” Considering the overtourism characteristics and its consequences on residents’ well-being, we need to analyze its influence within the context of a festival. Some festivals, including the Oktoberfest in Blumenau, were created seeking to promote and value German culture [8,9]. Due to their characteristics and the possibility of attracting visitors, currently, it has been increasingly used by destinations as a tourism product. It is attracting a significant number of tourists who wish to know and feel part of a new culture and also generating a possibility of leisure and entertainment for tourists and visitors.

However, Yolal et al. [9] state that if the residents perceive the development of the festival as a problem for their daily lives, they will develop a feeling of anti-tourism. If the negative impacts of such a development outweigh the positive ones, the tendency is that the community will not support the event in their city. It is understood, then, that if the increase in the flow of tourists is much higher than the capacity of the city, this can directly affect the residents’ well-being, thus generating a feeling of overtourism. In addition to the residents’ feeling of well-being, the excess of tourists visiting the same destination in a short period, due to festival schedules, can also directly influence the generation of irreversible impacts on the receiving community [10]. Thus, the ability of a destination to assess the subjective well-being of residents and its ability to support visitors can assist in the sustainability of the location [9,11]. There is a concern on the part of festival visitors, who are increasingly aware of the environmental and social responsibility of the organizers of the events they attend. Therefore, sustainability is becoming a must for events and destinations [12,13]. Sustainability should not be measured only through environmental aspects, but also to the social, economic, and cultural changes that residents can endure without this interfering in an extremely negative way in their routine [14,15] throughout the year and not just during the period of the festival [16,17,18].

An example of a Brazilian destination that suffers a considerable population increase during a festival is the city of Blumenau. The municipality is in the State of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, and has held the Oktoberfest since 1984, considered the largest Oktoberfest in the Americas and the second largest in the world [19]. The festival’s program includes a series of activities that seek to demonstrate to the residents and tourists the “folklore and cultural wealth, brought in the passion for music, dances, and typical German cuisine, striking elements of the Germanic traditions brought to Santa Catarina by the colonizers” [19] (p. 100).

According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) [20], the city that was colonized by Germans has approximately 357,000 inhabitants (third municipality with the highest population density in Santa Catarina) and received an amount of approximately 576.5 thousand visitors during the 19 days of celebration in 2019 [21]. Thus, the importance of holding the event for Blumenau is perceived, since it is currently the main tourist product of the destination, responsible for triggering the entire tourism industry during its realization. Based on this, more studies seeking to understand the residents’ perception of the festival in their city, seeking to identify how they experience the changes caused by the significantly increased tourists flow driven by the Oktoberfest and its relationship with the well-being of individuals.

In addition to the managerial contribution, this research adds relevant theoretical data for different themes—such as festivals, subjective well-being, and overtourism—which, when combined, bring the originality to the research. Thus, this research aims to analyze the relationship between the subjective well-being of Blumenau residents (Santa Catarina, Brazil) with the perceptions about the impacts of excessive tourism in their territory of residence. To achieve our purpose, we structured the research into six sections. Initially, the introduction seeks to contextualize and justify the choice of the theme and, consequently, to present the goals of the study. Subsequently, a literature review on well-being and overtourism is carried out. The second section presents the methodology adopted in the construction of the work. The results and conclusions are presented in the third and fourth sections, respectively. Finally, the fifth section contains the references used in the theoretical framework.

1.1. Subjective Well-Being

Happiness and unhappiness are not separate dimensions since they can be perceived differently, and they are part of the same phenomenon [22]. Based on this understanding, many researchers have been more concerned with understanding the processes that cause and influence happiness than with analyzing demographic variables that correlate with it [23], showing interest in understanding the implications between meeting needs, quality of life, and subjective well-being.

Well-being concerns the quality of life lived in the present, “right here right now,” and its support for future generations [24], that is, the authors incorporate the principles of sustainability into the concept of well-being. Other studies that link these two themes reinforce that the focus of these researchers is precisely on increasing or sustaining the well-being of a location or event [24,25,26].

We have to consider that “we are beings of multiple and interdependent needs. Simultaneities, complementarities, and compensations are characteristic of the dynamics of the process of satisfying needs” [27] (p. 37). In this aspect, Wilson [28] emphasizes that satisfaction depends on the individual’s levels of adaptation or aspirations, which are influenced by previous experiences, comparisons with other individuals, and personal values.

The control of individual satisfactions, people’s emotional responses to different situations, and the global judgment of life satisfaction are included in a broad category of phenomena that compose subjective well-being [23]. Yolal et al. [9] understand subjective well-being as the result of cognitive and emotional assessments that people obtain and how it affects satisfaction with their life. Mendes et al. [29] claim that happiness, through well-being [9], and satisfaction with life [30] play a fundamental role in people’s quality of life. It is no wonder that studies that make this relationship between happiness and quality of life have been increasing in recent years [29].

Nawijn [30] states that happiness can be understood as satisfaction with life. This happiness presupposes the general assessment of life, which is based on how well people feel and how life adjusts to their desires. Sirgy et al. [31] compare the levels of satisfaction to a pyramid, where the top characterizes satisfaction in general, the middle and the base of the pyramid are the other domains of life satisfaction, such as, for example, satisfaction with family, with the community, belonging, work, health, and social life.

According to the authors, satisfaction with life is strongly related to satisfaction with all areas of life. Therefore, the higher the satisfaction in the several domains of life, the higher the general satisfaction with life itself and, consequently, the higher the individual’s happiness. Tourism is an example of a component of life’s domains since participating in tourism activities contributes to the individual’s sense of well-being [32].

Tourism studies that have focused on discussions related to the good life and human activities have been represented by a range of terms inspired by philosophy and psychology, such as quality of life, life satisfaction, happiness, and well-being [6]. Lee et al. [33] suggest that the tourist’s happiness is influenced by the positive experience they had at the destination, also stating that the tourist seeks happiness through a satisfactory tourist activity.

Yolal et al. [9] investigated how the participation of residents in local festivals can influence their subjective well-being and their quality of life. Among the main results, the higher the perceived community benefits of festivals, the more significant the impacts on the residents’ subjective well-being. Another positive relationship was between cultural/educational benefits and the well-being of the residents. However, concerns about the quality of life, which involve vandalism, traffic, and noise levels during a festival, have harmed the sense of well-being of residents.

On the other hand, the study carried out by Ivlevs [7], in 32 countries over 12 years, pointed out that with the increasing arrival of tourists to a particular destination, the subjective well-being of residents decreases, especially in terms of satisfaction with life. The author notes that tourism, on the one hand, brings benefits to the local community through the modernization of recreational facilities, cultural revitalization, organization of festivals, investments in tourism, and environmental infrastructure. In contrast, tourism activity can increase the local cost of living, contribute to the increase in noise pollution, agglomeration, traffic, crime problems, contributing to the decrease in the residents’ well-being. In addition to the assessment related to the subjective well-being perceived by residents, the concept of overtourism is also directly related to how much the destination can deal effectively with the social and environmental effects generated by the tourist activity in its territory [2,34].

1.2. Overtourism

The term excessive tourism, or overtourism, is used to describe a situation in which the activity ends up uncontrollably influencing the quality of life of residents and, consequently, the experiences of tourists who visit the destination [35]. Milano et al. [5] argue that when the destination reaches this capacity, it ends up being overloaded by additional tourists and consequently does not develop sustainably. It should be noted that overtourism is not a synonym for overcrowding, but a situation where the number of visitors overloads the services and facilities available at the destination. Above all, it becomes an inconvenience for residents [10,16].

Mihalič and Kuščer [36] argue that the effects caused by overtourism are directly linked to the sustainability of the destination. The World Tourism Organization [35] states that overtourism affects the social sustainability of the interaction between residents and tourists when the number of visitors in the destination affects the quality of life, or the experience has deteriorated more than the local population was willing to accept.

This is demonstrated in the study by Kuščer and Mihalič [37], who realized that the positive, sustainable impacts of tourism reduced the perception of Ljubljana residents about overtourism and even improved their view on the responsible management of the local Target management organizations, which consequently increased satisfaction with life at the destination. The results achieved in this research are similar to those found by Jamieson [38], who realized that destination managers must pay attention to the effects of excessive tourism in the social, environmental, and economic aspects of destinations that explore the activity.

The relationship between sustainability and overtourism was also addressed in the study by Cheung and Li [32]. In Hong Kong’s context, managers must pay attention to the deterioration of relations between residents and tourists promoted by the impacts generated by tourism in the destination. As result, the authors also realized that for there to be no anti-tourism feeling, tourism resilience must be developed, and sustainable growth in Hong Kong should be explored.

Amore et al. [39] proved in their study that the feeling of overtourism and the perception of sustainable development of the destination are not directly linked to the number of visitors in the locality, but rather, to how much the residents can support. The results showed that many of the cities studied have below-average overtourism potential, which contrasts with the extensive media coverage surrounding the problem of overtourism that each city is facing. Thus, when the adverse effects of the tourist activity outweigh the benefits generated by the activity, a negative feeling may arise in the residents regarding the development of tourism in their destination [1,40,41]. Overtourism has been considered one of the greatest threats to global tourism development [34,42].

Koens et al. [43] and Phi [40] argue that it should be analyzed whether residents’ perception of the negative impacts of tourism not only concerns the actual number of tourists visiting the destination but whether this presence is also aggravated under changes brought about in the community motivated by the presence of visitors. Insch [2] adds that tourism should generate local and global environmental benefits, providing an improvement in the residents’ quality of life and, from the moment that this does not occur, the tendency is for anti-tourism feelings to grow in the destination.

Despite the relevance of analyzing the influencing aspects of overtourism in destinations, authors such as Capocchi et al. [1], Carballo et al. [44], and Insch [2], encourage research to understand how the process of development of anti-tourism feelings occurs, with regard to overtourism and consequently the decline of destinations influenced by such phenomena. As already mentioned, this term has been used in the literature for a short time; it came out in 2016 [3]. Thus, it still needs more considerable attention and acclamation within the academia, so that it has greater visibility and depth in the analysis of the relationships between the residents’ well-being and the perception of excessive tourism. Carballo et al. [44] further argue that research related to the theme has been approached as theoretical insights and reflections. However, they still need specific variables and scales that can measure the residents’ feelings of overtourism.

Among the aspects related to the excess of tourism in a community, vandalism has been pointed out in research as a significant negative impact on the support or rejection of the residents toward the development of tourism in their territory of residence [7,8,45,46]. The increased flow of tourists within a destination and the possible increase in the number of police occurrences can decrease the residents’ sense of security and their well-being in their locality [43].

When surveying in order to understand the attitudes of Ibiza residents about tourism in the destination, Serra-Cantallops and Ramon-Cardona [47] realized that these are divided into three groups: supporters, opponents, and light opponents. Residents, in general, realize that nightclubs and parties are fundamental to the image of Ibiza as a tourist destination. However, the noise perceived in the community is the primary motivator of opposition to tourism by opponents and light opponents. These groups claim that the movement promoted by the activity in the territory, makes the noise levels of tourists unacceptable, making the destination an “open-air party,” reducing the quality of the tourist experience.

The results of the research presented here demonstrate different influencing aspects of the residents’ perceptions of overtourism. Namberger et al. [48] and Smith et al. [46] argue that, among other aspects, the increased people flow circulating in the territory and, consequently, the overcrowding of traffic and access is a primary generator of anti-tourism feeling motivated by excess demand. Namberger et al. [48] in their study on the overtourism feeling during Munich’s Oktoberfest, revealed that the city residents perceived a component of local disturbance caused by tourism. A growing crowd of tourists who generated local disturbances mainly due to cultural differences between groups, discouraging residents from receiving new visitors.

The results also show that destinations that use events and festivals as the main tourist product tend to directly cause concerns among their residents about the increase in the flow of visitors to the destination. In the case of festivals, Yolal et al. [9] argue that during the period of holding such events, there is a substantial increase in the number of visitors in cities, and this lasts for a short time (only as long as the festival’s program exists). This means that residents do not adequately perceive the benefits generated by the festival achievement.

Thus, the perception is that their routine is directly altered, there is a considerable increase in the displacement of people and means of transportation [8,48], increase in sound and noise levels [8,47], vandalism and violent trends in the city [45], generating a feeling opposed to the achievement of festivals and events and, consequently, reducing their well-being in the destination [9]. It is worth mentioning that in most cases, the festival’s participants are predominantly residents, reinforcing the argument that building relationships with communities over time is fundamental to the success of these events and should be adopted as a central management activity [49].

2. Materials and Methods

This paper has an exploratory, descriptive character with a predominantly quantitative approach. Quantitative research understands the reality based on the analysis of raw data, collected from standardized and neutral instruments. Unlike qualitative research, quantitative research understands that everything can be measurable, that is, to demonstrate the opinions and information collected in numbers. This type of research focuses on objectivity [50,51,52]. This study was developed in four stages, a documentary and bibliographic review, referring to the research theme; data collection and methodology; analysis of the collected data; and, finally, the discussion and conclusion.

The first stage used the bibliographic and documentary review as a technical procedure in order to support the research, in addition to supporting the construction of the data collection instrument. The second stage, characterized by data collection, was performed through the Focus project and carried out by Publicity and Advertising students at the Regional University of Blumenau (FURB). They used the stratification in the 36 neighborhoods of the city of Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, as a sampling technique.

The data collection took place between the 3rd and 16th of September 2019 through the application of a structured self-filling questionnaire, composed of two dimensional analysis: the subjective well-being of residents (three items) and the overtourism feeling (three items), which were extracted from the study by Yolal et al. [9]. The six variables were measured with staggered responses of agreement and importance (not at all satisfied, not very satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, or indifferent, satisfied, and very satisfied).

The survey, which adopted a 95% confidence interval and a 5% error margin, covered the population of Blumenau aged 16 years and over. A sample of 400 respondents was selected, segmented by sex (200 men and 200 women), age group (from 16 to 34 years, from 35 to 59 years, and 60 years or more) and average income (up to R$ 3000, from R$ 3001 to R$ 8000, and over R$ 8000).

Descriptive and multivariate statistical treatments were applied in order to measure the relationships between the variables analyzed, according to the proposed objective. This way, Microsoft Office Excel Software was used in the process of tabulation of the collected data, and later IBM SPSS Statistics 25 was used for the analysis of the results. For the analysis, we used simple descriptive statistics: through frequencies and averages and multivariate techniques, univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Mann–Whitney in order to find statistically significant differences between the groups analyzed.

3. Results and Discussion

Through a stratified sample, applied in 36 neighborhoods of Blumenau, we sought to analyze the opinions of 400 respondents living in the city, aged 16 or over, in the period from 3rd to 16th September. Of these 400 valid questionnaires, 202 (50.5%) were men, 50% were between 16 and 35, 33.5% were from 36 to 59, and 16.5% were 60 or older. About the respondents’ average monthly family income, the majority showed that they received between R$ 3001 and R$ 8000 (54%), with the remaining receiving up to R$ 3000 (30.3%) and over R$ 8000 (15.8%).

About the means found regarding the subjective well-being of Blumenau residents and their perception of overtourism in the destination, it appears that the variables most perceived by residents are the problems related to the excess of tourists in the receiving destination, such as traffic conflicts (3.91) and vandalism (3.58) generated by the Oktoberfest. The variable referring to the residents’ subjective well-being most perceived by them is the one that represents the happiness in participating in the festival, with an average of 3.48.

The results presented show that the community is happy to participate in the festival, but still realizes that the costs generated by it still exceed the feeling (

Table 1. Averages related to the feeling of overtourism and subjective well-being of Blumenau residents.

Variable	Average	Standard Deviation
Traffic problems, involving cars and buses, increase to unacceptable levels during the party.	3.91	1.131
Vandalism increases in the city during Oktoberfest.	3.58	1.198
Participating in Oktoberfest makes me very happy.	3.48	1.341
The noise in the streets increases unacceptably during Oktoberfest.	3.29	1.279
Participating in Oktoberfest makes me feel much better about things and myself.	2.90	1.343
Somehow, Oktoberfest improves my life.	2.76	1.331

Source: research data (2018).

). Such results are in line with what was exposed by Lee et al. [33], who states that the positive experience influences happiness in the destination, where tourists (focus of their study, but it also applies to the context of residents) seek happiness through a satisfactory tourist activity. Therefore, it appears that the perception of the negative impacts of Oktoberfest in Blumenau may be affecting the happiness of residents with the festival in their community.

On the other hand, residents demonstrated to perceive less the variables related to subjective well-being, since “feeling better about things and myself” after attending Oktoberfest and the fact that the festival improves the respondents’ lives were the variables with lowest averages: 2.9 and 2.76, respectively. Thus, it appears that the population already shows characteristic traits of overtourism, perceiving predominantly negative aspects of the festival in their community. The results are similar to those found by Namberger et al. [48], who also analyzed the residents’ opinion about holding an Oktoberfest.

The averages found in the present research, as well as the results generated by them, are also similar to those perceived by Ivlevs [7] and Yolal et al. [9]. In both contexts of analysis, concerns about the quality of life have had negative impacts on the residents’ sense of well-being. The conflicts generated by the increased flow of tourists in the destination cause the residents’ happiness to decrease significantly, making them perceive more sharply the costs of the activity in their community.

Subsequently, respondents were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of Blumenau residents who perceived a low average of well-being about the Oktoberfest at their destination (with averages between 1 and 3.99). The second group consisted of the portion of respondents who feel greater well-being in the festival, with averages between 4 and 5. The results found in the survey showed that the vast majority of Blumenau residents (73.3%) belonged to the first group, that is, they had low well-being concerning the largest festival held in their place of residence. Only 26.8% of residents showed that they belong to the second group.

These findings can be directly related to the descriptive statistics found in the research. The averages demonstrate that the residents predominantly perceive negative aspects related to the excess of tourists in Blumenau during the Oktoberfest. This finding corroborates what was exposed by Capocchi et al. [1] and Ivlevs [7], who also found that the feeling of overtourism and the perception of negative impacts promoted by tourism, cause discomfort or decreased the well-being of residents.

In order to assess more deeply the difference between groups of residents, two tests were performed, the univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Mann–Whitney. The first sought to determine, based on a dependent measure, whether samples came from populations with equal averages [1]. The second, on the other hand, is indicated for comparison of two unpaired groups, present in non-normal samples, to verify whether they belong to the same population [53]. It was decided to carry out the two tests due to the significant difference between the participants in each group. The results of the two tests were similar, demonstrating the existence of a statistically significant difference between the groups at a level of 0.001 in the first test and 0.000 in the second.

The results found in ANOVA regarding the residents’ well-being at the Oktoberfest in Blumenau and its relationship with the overtourism feeling are shown in

Table 2. Univariate analysis of variance related to the well-being of Blumenau residents and the overtourism feeling.

	Sum of Squares	Degrees of Freedom	Average Square	F	Sig.
Between Groups	8.576	1	8.576	10.571	0.001
In groups	322.061	397	0.811
Total	330.637	398

Source: research data (2018).

. In the Mann–Whitney test, the results were similar to the U value Mann–Whitney with 0.000 significance, Wilcoxon W of 43,071.000, Z value being −15.380, and bilateral significance at a level of 0.000.

Based on the results found in the ANOVA and Mann–Whitney tests, there are statistically significant differences between the two groups initially determined. Thereby, it can be assumed that Blumenau residents can be divided between those who have lower well-being with the Oktoberfest in the city and those who have higher well-being. These results are in line with the study applied by Yolal et al. [9], who identified both positive and negative influences on festivals and residents’ well-being.

It is worth mentioning that there are signs that there is a certain level of rejection to the development of the festival since the majority of the population claims that it does not generate well-being in Blumenau. These findings are similar to the ones found by Ivlevs [7], which pointed out an increase in the arrival of tourists to a specific destination or the subjective residents’ well-being.

Related to the overtourism feeling among Blumenau residents, the group of those with low–average well-being at the Oktoberfest in the destination had a higher level of overtourism feeling (m = 3.7). The second group, the ones with high–average well-being, had a lower overtourism feeling (m = 3.35), which means that the lower the feeling of well-being of the residents, the higher they will tend to feel uncomfortable with the changes caused by the increase in the flow of tourists to the destination.

The results are in line with the majority of research related to residents’ attitudes about the excess of tourism or its impacts on the communities receiving the activity [8,45]. However, the research sought to analyze, among other aspects, the general attitude of residents. This paper aimed to relate the influence of residents’ well-being in generating feelings about the excess of tourism in the destination.

Finally, as the main managerial contribution, we can state that for the long-term sustainable development of festivals in destinations, besides investing in social and infrastructure improvements for residents, managers also have to provide and motivate the feeling of objective and subjective well-being of the natives. This is because the residents’ feeling of well-being can increase tolerance to the negative impacts promoted by the increased flow of tourists in the destinations.

This statement is in accordance with previous studies [6,29]. For the authors, tourism development should not compromise the residents’ well-being, and, knowing the impacts of happiness on the tourists’ lives, one can work strategically to improve the activity, motivation, and engagement of tourists. The results of the present research prove that this context also represents the happiness of the residents of destinations that conduct festivals.

4. Conclusions

This research aimed to unite two emerging themes in the scientific literature that remain little explored within the context of festivals: the subjective well-being (happiness) and the residents’ feeling of overtourism. Thus, we seek to analyze the relationship between the subjective well-being of Blumenau residents (Santa Catarina, Brazil) with their perceptions about the impacts of excessive tourism during the Oktoberfest.

The object of study was chosen due to its relevance in the national context since it is currently considered the largest Germanic festival in Brazil. Its realization directly changes the routines of the residents, also affecting the destination’s tourism sustainability, due to a large number of tourists circulating in the city in a short period.

The results had two main implications, theoretical and managerial. The main theoretical result demonstrates a statistically significant difference in residents’ perception regarding the overtourism feeling in the realization of a cultural festival in their city. Residents with less sense of well-being with the Oktoberfest were demonstrated to perceive in a more obvious way the negative impacts of the Oktoberfest in the community. That is, they were demonstrated to perceive the conflicts generated by the excess of tourism in the place.

The present research advances the current literature on overtourism, providing a new perspective on the theme. It is worth mentioning that the residents’ well-being and their sense of overtourism can directly influence the development of Oktoberfest’s social and cultural sustainability. Moreover, the residents’ happiness and their ability to withstand the intense flow of visitors in Blumenau can interfere directly with support or rejection of the festival.

Regarding management implications, the results revealed the relevance of managers’ performance in implementing the local culture and identity in the festival schedule. It is not enough to have community participation in the realization of the festival; managerial attitudes must be taken in order to increase the residents’ well-being so that they have more positive attitudes toward the tourist activity in their place of residence. Such findings can be a great competitive advantage in the destination management, which can be implemented and executed without high financial costs, but with a more considerable effort in expanding the sense of well-being and happiness of the natives.

This research also provides managerial and political implications regarding the residents’ subjective well-being, overtourism, and destination sustainability. The findings corroborate the existing research, which argues that destination managers should consider the residents’ overtourism feeling seeking the sustainable development of tourism in their territory. The present study also proved this relationship about subjective well-being. It also adds that, in the political vision of the management, this context must be considered not only concerning the Oktoberfest in Blumenau but also on the tourist activity throughout the year in the city.

Despite the significant theoretical and managerial contribution to the scientific literature on subjective well-being and excessive tourism in destinations, the present research had some limitations. Among them are the lack of tested and valid empirical instruments in tourism and festivals area that could more deeply measure the residents’ overtourism feeling. The low number of publications on the excess of tourism and its relationship with residents was also a limiting issue in the theoretical construction of the present study.

As suggestions for future studies, we suggest the development of an expanded scale that has a greater focus on the relationship between subjective well-being and excessive tourism. We also suggest applying it in a different context, in order to identify whether the significant difference between the two groups of residents found here is present only in festival contexts or whether this finding can be generalized to the different existing contexts in the tourism industry. Finally, new research can carry out different analyses, such as clusters, seeking to identify new groups of residents, according to their feelings of subjective well-being and sense of overtourism.