Tourist Mobility at the Destination Toward Protected Areas: The Case-Study of Extremadura

José Manuel Sánchez Martín, Juan Ignacio Rengifo Gallego and Luz María Martín Delgado
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José Manuel Sánchez Martín: Faculty of Business and Tourism, University of Extremadura, 10071 Caceres, Spain
Juan Ignacio Rengifo Gallego: Faculty of Letters, University of Extremadura, 10071 Caceres, Spain
Luz María Martín Delgado: Faculty of Business and Tourism, University of Extremadura, 10071 Caceres, Spain

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: The use of natural protected areas has been analyzed abundantly in the relevant literature, although on many occasions these areas are studied from the viewpoint of their role as a tourist destination in themselves, while neglecting their role as a tourist attraction that can be visited from the main destination of their stay. In certain specific areas, as in the case of Extremadura, protected areas are often a complementary destination for visitors who are staying in popular tourist hubs. This study is based on data from 4 different spaces (with different degrees in their status as protected areas) about the flow of tourists they generate at the destination. In light of the data, this paper identifies the 41 towns and villages with the most tourists, later to determine their mobility towards natural protected areas. Information was collected from almost 14,000 surveys that were filled at 52 tourist offices. This information allowed us to map the flow of tourists from their places of stay to the protected areas analyzed here, which resulted in the mapping of relevant networks by means of a Geographic Information System following the criterion of shortest path available. The results here clearly demonstrate that each area has a varying capacity to attract visitors, although in a large proportion of cases, the 60-min isochrone is a boundary beyond which the number of visitors drops significantly.

Keywords: protected natural areas; Extremadura; tourist flow; mobility at the destination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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