Enjeux sociaux et environnementaux du développement du tourisme urbain

This article starts by recalling the trends in urban tourism within the last two decades in France, thereby insisting on the shortcomings of definitions and the difficulties in measuring. It shows how policies fostering tourism lead to a competitive struggle between cities. However towns experience various forms of tourism, which is expressed in a typology. It remains that generally, the functions of towns regarding tourism lead to tensions in urban life and planning : a heavy concentration of leisure and tourism in town centres thus excluding suburbs, a discrepancy between the city as it is dreamt of and reality. Finally, the article deals with the impacts of growing mobility on the leisure functions of cities. Classification JEL : L830, O180.