Scales and scenarios of change in the anthropology-landscape relationship: models of cultural tourism in Fuerteventura (Canary Isles)

Abstract

Tourism is a crucial part of the economy of the Canary Isles (Spain) and its potential with regard to its 'ecological' and 'cultural' facets has not yet been well addressed. These perspectives could lead the industry towards a model of sustainability that is as yet lacking in Spain's usual tourism: the way in which this industry has been managed has been successful in the financial sense, but erroneous in relation to socio-economy and sustainability. In the Canary Isles, the tourism continues to have a serious environmental cost. In this archipelago, a National Park has been planned for the near future on Fuerteventura. This reference enables the creation of scenarios based on new perspectives. We have developed a model of the interdependence between the island's anthropological structure and that of its natural and cultural landscape. The model is based upon multiple regression. The procedure is tested at different spatial scales. The results establish i) the parameters with which this interdependence becomes more or less strong, ii) the way in which the degree of interdependence varies in counties of different sizes, and iii) the interest of these parameters to be used as indicators of change, considering scenarios deriving from the new perspectives.

Environmental valuation by the local population and visitors for zoning a protected area

“…Herein, the reason for declaring a national park in Fuerteventura is the high naturalistic values encountered therein (Hernández [8], Pineda [10], Lorenzo [32], Del Arco [33], Rodríguez-Delgado [34]), as well as the fact that the study area is a tourist resort that is attractive, but also classical (four s tourism), still presenting a low cultural value (Hernández and Pineda [15], Díaz et al [17], Ruiz-Labourdette et al [18], Rodríguez et al [19]). This fact is recognised by the tourism industry.…”

“…To date, there has been some interest in the theme, but rather methodological difficulties with regard to integrating locals or visitors in ecological assessments of the territory. However, there have been some studies in this sense (Díaz et al [17], Ruiz-Labourdette et al [18], Rodríguez et al [19], Aguilera et al [20], Schmitz et al [21,22]). Even less common is the incorporation of the quality of life and standard of living into the above mentioned assessment of thematic and environmental impact.…”

Landscape Perceptions and Social Evaluation of Heritage‐Building Processes

“…This phenomenon has been given as the reason for the general state of abandon of the historically productive structure of the island (and the resulting transfer of status, capital and employees) and general stampede towards the tourism sector, given its accelerated boom and the consequent demand for a workforce. This has had significant repercussions on the social structure of the island (Ruiz‐Labourdette et al , ).…”

“…Such processes are being promoted by local institutions by using a strategy that includes using complementary attributes to Fuerteventura's traditional image of ‘sun and beach’ to adapt it to more nature and cultural tourism stereotypes, thus improving the positioning of the island in the international tourism market. Additionally, these processes could help reduce the current socio‐ecological impacts that recent socioeconomic development, excessively based on mass tourism, has caused on the culture and territory (Ruiz‐Labourdette et al , ; Matos et al , ). Thus, mainly since 2004, a heritage‐building dynamic inspired by the official discourse of sustainability has been initiated.…”

Landscape perception of local population: the relationship between ecological characteristics, local society and visitor preferences

“…Agriculture has been concentrated in some valley bottoms and some flat areas and slope zones with characteristic terraces (gavias), where some varieties of early cereals have been successfully grown. In the last decade, rural abandonment has run parallel to the development of mass 'sun and sand' tourism (Ruiz-Labourdette et al [18]). …”