Spanish Tourism: Economic Impact, Regional Distribution, and Sustainability
Domestic Tourism in Spain
Domestic tourism has grown rapidly in Spain due to rising living standards, increased leisure time, the advancement of retirement age, and improved transport. While sun and sand destinations remain popular, other forms like mountain tourism, rural tourism, cultural tourism, and business tourism have also developed. Madrid and Catalonia account for over a third of all tourist trips, with Andalusia, Catalonia, Castile and León, and Valencia being the main recipient regions.
Tourism is a vital economic activity in Spain, directly generating 2.5 million jobs and many more indirectly. However, most tourist areas concentrate their activity in a short period, leading to seasonality issues in hotel occupancy and employment instability.
The distribution of tourism in Spain shows significant regional differences. The Mediterranean coast, the islands, and Madrid are the most popular destinations, while the Atlantic coast and the Pyrenees have an intermediate position, and inland provinces have the lowest rates. Recent trends indicate an increase in visitors to historic cities and a growing interest in rural tourism. The distribution of hotel employees and tourist infrastructure is highly concentrated in areas popular with foreign tourists, such as the Balearic Islands, the coast of Catalonia, Valencia, Andalusia, and cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, Seville, and Salamanca. Of the 55 million passenger arrivals at Spanish airports, one-third are on low-cost airlines like Ryanair and Vueling.
Tourism advertising often highlights the attractions of each area, such as climate, beaches, landscapes, cultural heritage, and leisure infrastructure, while downplaying potential problems.
The “Sun and Beach” Tourism Model has two main consequences:
1. Concentration in Time: The majority of travel occurs in summer, creating a surge in demand that can be difficult to manage and leading to profitability issues during the rest of the year.
2. Concentration in Territory: Tourist destinations are concentrated along a narrow strip of coastline, the Mediterranean archipelagos, and lakes. This puts enormous pressure on these areas, which must accommodate millions of people in a short time, while the rest of the country experiences much lower tourism levels.
1. Demographic Impact
– In Coastal Areas
- The strong demand for tourism creates jobs, often filled by foreign immigrants and Spaniards.
- Tourism policy and development activities in sectors like construction also generate jobs, largely occupied by immigrants.
– The temporary influx of tourists in summer increases the population in coastal areas. In some rural, mountainous, and historic areas, tourism has slowed depopulation, encouraged the revival of crafts and traditions, and contributed to the rehabilitation of built heritage.
2. Economic Impact
- Tourism creates jobs, particularly in labor-intensive and low-skilled tasks, which helps reduce unemployment.
- It has a multiplier effect on other economic activities, stimulating demand in agriculture, industry, construction, transportation, and trade.
- Tourism brings wealth to the country and is a fundamental pillar of Spain’s economic prosperity.
- It helps compensate for the trade balance and slows foreign debt.
3. Political, Cultural, and Sociological Implications
- Tourism fosters closer relations between people and cultures, promoting political understanding among states. It also promotes the social integration of immigrants working in the sector.
- Tourism impacts local society, positively by encouraging social change and modernization, and negatively by potentially causing the loss of customs and identity.
4. Implications for Planning
Tourism affects not only tourist areas but also their surroundings, where activities and services are implemented, potentially causing conflicts with other sectors.
a) In coastal areas, recreational spaces (sports, amusement parks) and basic supply infrastructure (water, food) are developed. This leads to:
- Alterations to the environment and landscape: wetlands for water, quarries for building materials, earthworks for transportation.
- Conflicts over land use and resources: development pressure on arable land, competition for water use in agriculture.
b) In rural and mountain areas, tourism can conflict with agricultural activities or encourage their abandonment.
c) In historic towns, old centers may become specialized in serving tourist activities.
5. Environmental Impacts
The main current problems stem from the concentration of tourism in a few coastal areas, archipelagos, and lakes, which suffer severe impacts: increased resource and energy consumption, greater waste generation, more infrastructure, higher greenhouse gas emissions, etc. In recent years, highly profitable but environmentally unsustainable infrastructure has been developed. Hotels and residences on the beach, large tourist complexes, and the proliferation of golf courses in areas with negative water balance contribute to the degradation of the coast and countryside and the depletion of resources.