It is well known that tourism plays a prominent role in increasing global economic growth. As much as tourism can be used as a tool to accelerate economic growth, research has shown that tourism is a double-edged sword that can also produce undesirable and harmful outcomes for host societies. With this in mind, this study seeks to understand how host communities are negatively impacted by tourism activities. The study utilises a literature review approach as a data collection tool to identify the negative impacts of tourism activities on societies. The results of the study show that the dimensions of these negative impacts are based on issues such as the destruction of local cultural values, tourists' expectations, physical damage, the commercialisation of social culture, the production of inauthentic products, social instability, and crime. The study also identifies some future areas of research that can be explored by future researchers on this topic.