Abstract

MUNOZ SEMECO, Dayana. An Approximation to Rural Tourism in Spain. Terra [online]. 2015, vol.31, n.50, pp.39-54. ISSN 1012-7089.

In a globalized world, tourism is one of the most important economic activities. As for Spain, tourism is an important part in their Gross Domestic Product. In addition, United States of America, France and Spain top the list of countries that receive the largest number of tourists per year. A diverse tourism plays a key role in the development of this activity to maintain global leadership. On the regional and local level, the tourism is taken as a dynamic agent, which opens new perspectives for economic diversification and the creation of sources of employment. Under these ideas, the rural tourism, allows to minimize the rural flight (rural exodus), the aging and the depopulation of rural areas in Spain. This current work shows an overview of the tourism and the rural tourism, focusing on Europe, and specifically on Spain as the case study. The results of this rural tourism analysis show its economic, geographic and social importance, both at the national and regional levels.

Keywords : tourism; rural tourism; rural development; geography.