Tourism Development in the Framework of Endogenous Rural Development Programmes—Comparison of the Case Studies of the Regions of La Vera and Tajo-Salor (Extremadura, Spain)

Francisco Javier Castellano-Álvarez (), Rafael Robina Ramírez and Ana Nieto Masot
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Francisco Javier Castellano-Álvarez: Economy Department, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Rafael Robina Ramírez: Business Management and Sociology Department, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain
Ana Nieto Masot: Department of Art and Territorial Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Caceres, Spain

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-28

Abstract: The promotion of rural tourism is one of the measures that has aroused most expectations in the application of the endogenous rural development programmes promoted by the European Commission at the beginning of the 1990s. Using the case study methodology, this research aims to compare the implementation of the aforementioned measure in two regions which, according to their characteristics, could be considered as antagonistic examples: one, La Vera, has all the conditions to successfully develop its tourism sector; the other, Tajo-Salor, with an adverse climate, lacking in outstanding tourism resources and far from the main centres of demand, could be considered the opposite. The results of the research show the risks inherent in an excessive specialisation in tourism within development strategies. Paradoxically, in La Vera, the concentration of investment in the tourism sector has resulted in a higher number of failed and transferred projects, as well as the dissatisfaction of most of its tourism promoters with the viability of their businesses. In contrast, in Tajo-Salor, the results are more positive, despite the fact that this region has given less relative importance to the tourism sector.

Keywords: leader initiative; Proder programme; tourism promoters; failed projects; semi-structured interviews; rural accommodation; economic viability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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