The Effects of Tourism on Local Development in Protected Nature Areas: The Case of Three Nature Parks of the Sierra Morena (Andalusia, Spain)

María Bahamonde-Rodríguez, Giedrė Šadeikaitė and Francisco Javier García-Delgado ()
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María Bahamonde-Rodríguez: Research Group Local Development Institute, University of Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
Giedrė Šadeikaitė: Department of Human Geography, University of Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, 03080 Alicante, Spain
Francisco Javier García-Delgado: Research Group Local Development Institute, University of Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-34

Abstract: In rural spaces, new activities are developed to add to the traditional ones in the context of multifunctionality, considering the protection and enhancement of natural and cultural heritage, as in natural parks. These incorporate new recreational and tourist functions, understood as an instrument for local development. This research aims to study the relationships between tourism and local development in three natural parks (Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche, Sierra Norte de Sevilla, and Sierra de Hornachuelos) in Andalusia (Spain). The research uses a mixed methodology consisting of, on the one hand, selective interviews with stakeholders focused on tourism and local development processes and, on the other, secondary data to analyse the repercussions on local development. The results show (1) the prevalence among the informants of the economic dimension in local development above the environmental and sociocultural dimensions; (2) the influence of declarations of protection and implementation of development policies on the growth of the tourist offer; (3) uneven tourism development in the different municipalities and natural parks; and (4) the limited effects of tourism on local development.

Keywords: local development; natural parks; Sierra Morena; stakeholders; tourism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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