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

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.

The Dehesas of Extremadura, Spain: A Potential for Socio-Economic Development Based on Agritourism Activities

“…The protected areas and the dehesas of holm oaks and cork oaks constitute an important natural heritage, the main exploitation of which is based on agriculture and stockbreeding. This system however underestimates certain potentialities which are mentioned in numerous studies carried out on the territory analysed, among which stand out the tourist exploitation which should occur in these spaces [23,[45][46][47].…”

Protected Areas as a Center of Attraction for Visits from World Heritage Cities: Extremadura (Spain)

“…The demand of these two tourist centers is apparently strongly focused on cultural tourism, so in principle it could be assumed that natural places would not attract the interest of this sector. However, research reflects quite the opposite, i.e., that there is a significant demand for getting to know and enjoying the main attractions of a place [36,37].…”

“…Some authors have made affirmations in this sense, although when references are made to this effect, they are generally from the perspective of governance and management models for specific natural spaces [33,34] or overall ones on a national level [35]. Nevertheless, gradually some analyses are being carried out which emphasise mobility as a key factor in facilitating the management of tourist destinations [36,37].…”

The National Parks in the Context of Tourist Function Development in Territorially Linked Municipalities in Poland

“…The trend towards identifying the protected areas with additional, rather than the main, destination for tourists is particularly noteworthy. Moving both accommodation and catering bases out of the protected space and organizing the "main stay" in the areas surrounding national parks ensures appropriate dynamics of the region's development along with limiting anthropopressure in the naturally valuable area [48].…”