Landscape and Tourism as Tools for Local Development in Mid-Mountain Rural Areas in the Southeast of Spain (Castilla-La Mancha)

Abstract

The modernization of economic activities in mountain areas is conditioned by the physical characteristics of the territory, the weight of activities related to the primary sector, infrastructure deficits, low population density, as well as the declining and ageing population. The response to this situation has involved implementing a certain degree of functional diversification. One of the aspects that has assisted in the expansion of the tertiary sector is leisure and recreational activities. Rural tourism in European mid-mountain regions has emerged as a key element, supported by local development strategies and changing preferences in demand. In the tourism industry, the resources are the raw material, in which landscape plays a leading role. The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate the landscape as a heritage and a tourism resource, focusing on its capacity to reactivate depressed rural areas of inland Spain (mid-mountain areas in the southeast of the autonomous region of Castilla–La Mancha). The study is based on opinions provided by tourists and uses a directed survey as an analytical tool. The results highlight the key role of landscape, especially natural landscape, in the use of such areas for tourism. This, in turn, underlines the need for a greater focus on organizing how the landscape is utilized.

The Scenic Beauty of Geosites and Its Relation to Their Scientific Value and Geoscience Knowledge of Tourists: A Case Study from Southeastern Spain

“…A study conducted in the Lake Tana region in Ethiopia also found that geosites combining a local geo-feature and a viewpoint were rated highest for their scenic beauty [16]. In addition, a survey of 582 visitors in the Albacete mountains (Spain), indicated that among the components that shape the character of the landscape (such as relief, water, vegetation, rural habitat, the combination of human and natural environments, climate, rural landscape, environmental quality and wildlife), the most important landscape component (as indicated by the rankings of these components by the respondents) was relief which includes mountains, gorges and valleys [108]. Such landscape components combine a local geo-feature and a viewpoint, and hence also support our finding.…”

Parameterization in the Analysis of Changes in the Rural Landscape on the Example of Agritourism Farms in Kłodzko District (Poland)

“…They are therefore of great importance in economic, social and environmental terms [24][25][26][27]. The open landscape of rural areas is important in terms of tourism activities, especially in the case of a variety of mountainous regions [28][29][30][31][32]. Noted that these aspects contribute often to considerations of multifunctional rural development and landscape transformation at the local level [33][34][35][36][37][38][39].…”

Propuesta metodológica para la identificación de zonas de atención prioritaria en materia de despoblación aplicada a la provincia de Badajoz (Extremadura)

“…En cuanto al número de habitantes, Extremadura se posiciona para ese año en decimotercer lugar con 1 063 987 residentes; sin embargo, las dos provincias que la conforman destacan por ser las más extensas del país en cuanto a superficie, superando los 40 000 kilómetros cuadrados. No obstante, en la región extremeña solamente siete de sus trescientos ochenta y ocho municipios superan los 20 000 habitantes, tamaño este de evidente importancia dado que es capaz de aglutinar diversos servicios y equipamientos básicos (Molinero, 2019;Abellán & García-Martínez, 2021;Bayona-i-Carrasco & Gil-Alonso, 2013). De estos, únicamente dos de ellos se localizan en la provincia cacereña (Plasencia y Cáceres), mientras que los cinco restantes se emplazan en la pacense (Villanueva de la Serena, Almendralejo, Don Benito, Mérida y Badajoz).…”