Public opinion and tourism in Spanish destinations: The cases of Gran Canaria, Andalusia and Malaga

• Moreira Gregori, Pedro Ernesto ^[1] ; Martín, Juan Carlos ^[1] ; Román, Concepción ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

     Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

     Gran Canaria, España

     
• Localización: Journal of Tourism Analysis = Revista de Análisis Turístico, ISSN 1885-2564, Vol. 28, Nº. 2, 2021, págs. 27-53
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • Purpose - We analyse the positive and negative impacts of tourism according to the opinions of residents of Gran Canaria, Andalusia and the Andalusian province of Malaga, comparing similarities, differences and general trends.

    Design/methodology/approach - The methodology is based on descriptive statistics of two surveys that were developed at two Research Centers located in Canary Islands and Andalusia. In Gran Canaria, the survey was administered by telephone to 504 residents in 2012; meanwhile in Andalusia, the survey was based on face-to-face interviews made to 1781 residents in the eight Andalusian provinces during 2008. The unequal characteristics of both territories, both in extension and in population density, deserved to limit also the Andalusian sample to one of the provinces, and it was decided to compare the results with the views of residents in the Andalusian province of Malaga which is the most tourist developed province of the Autonomous Community receiving more than 30% of the total of the tourists in Andalusia. Both Malaga and Gran Canaria are mature and consolidated sun and beach Spanish tourist destinations.

    Findings - In Gran Canaria, the opinions of the respondents are in general more homogeneous and more critical than in Malaga and Andalusia. In turn, the opinions of the residents of Malaga are also more critical to those of Andalusia. It seems that the tourist development of the place of residence is aligned with the fact that the residents have more formed opinions, regarding the benefits as well as the negative externalities.

    Originality/value – The study is novel as the comparative studies are still scarce, and the added value is also based on the importance of the mass tourist Spanish destinations used in the analysis: Gran Canaria, Andalusia and Malaga. The evaluation of the impacts and effects of the tourism in tourist destinations according to the opinions of residents is a basic pillar of a proper Sustainable Tourism Management model.