Analyse the changes that have been brought about by the growth of tourism in the country
Spain has evolved for the last 60 years. It undergone more social change than anywhere else in western Europe. (Inman,1996) Spain was once a poor and rural country, only 10,000 of the people lived in towns. Over a period of 50 years, many came into the city and move away from agriculture. By 1980s, their service industries including tourism and manufacturing have expanded. There is a new trend of more visitors drawn to the rich culture and heritage of Spain as well as the countryside compared to their popular beaches.
Changes that has been brought about by the growth of tourism will be divided into various impacts as seen below:
Economic Impact
Spain has an average GDP growth for about 15 years until the economic downturn in 2007. Tourism accounts to approximately 12% of the of the country's GDP.
The growth of Tourism has made major vast improvement in Transport and Communication. They have a total of 154 airports in Spain, 97 with paved runways and 57 with unpaved runways. There also have extensive railways, ports and terminals. Based on the airport statistics, most of the passenger arrivals comes within Spain. Therefore, this comes to show domestic arrivals is much more than foreign arrivals.
In my research findings, Spain received 78.9million foreign visitors a year and 51.7million stayed overnight which classifies that they are tourist. This was a 3.4% increase from year 2000. The employment for tourism sector in Spain accounts for 12.2% of the active population.
At the same time, the opening of the European Borders have allowed huge numbers of tourists to visit the 'Mediterranean Arc' (Catalonia, the Valencian Community and Andalusia) and the Balearic and Canary Islands.
Contrary to this, they are problems arising due to the growth of Tourism. The infrastructures are imbalance due to the funds needed to create infrastructures of a large scale phenomenon. Also, many towns are becoming dependent on tourism as their source of income. This will lead to problem of seasonality.
One of the many things I am amazed about in Spain is that they are keep their tradition alive. Many of the festivals and fiestas in different parts of Spain still continues every year. They are proud of their traditions and even though globalisation has taken place, it does not deter them to forget their way of life. It feels like every month, there is always a fiesta going on in Spain. Every Fiesta is celebrated with vibrant, full of life and chaotic.
I believe the growth of Tourism has brought about positive impacts of socio-cultural. Since they are very much proud of their culture and tradition, this festival still runs every year and attracts tourists from all around the world. Their culture and tradition can still sustain as their fiesta are not just celebrated by them but together with tourists.
Environmental Impacts
The growth of Tourism has contributed to the climatic change of the environment.
The forest burning for the last decades has caused desertification to some areas in Spain especially the South. The forest burns are caused by high temperature and low humidity which makes it extremely inflammable.
Another issue would be Malaria,
| Malaria, the world's largest killer, has resurfaced in Spain, and it is estimated that changes in climate will result in parts of the country becoming a suitable habitat for malaria-carrying species of mosquito by the 2020s. Source: WWF [PDF] |
There is also increasing over-exploitation of the resources. One example would be issues of saline intrusion. This is cause by over-abstraction of ground water. The reason for such over-abstraction is the demand of tourists resorts. If this continues, groundwater will no longer be available for consumption due to saline intrusion.
References :
http://www.andalucia.com/spain/statistics/airport.htm
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2005/10/feature/es0510103f.htm
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sp.html
http://www.spanish-living.com/fiestas-festivals-spain
http://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/two.html
http://www.iberianature.com/material/fire.html
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