The representation of touristification in media through mapping: the case of Malaga

Abstract

The touristification agenda has had considerable representation in the media in recent years because of tourism specialisation in cities. Existing literature has focused on using content analysis; however, previous content analyses have not typically been mapped. The main objectives were to conduct an in-depth measurement of urban tourism issues covered in the press and the stakeholders involved, but spatially. To show the spatial representation of touristification, Malaga is used as a case study as it is an emerging tourist city. The article analyses the content of 166 news items on touristification in Malaga published in the most-read local newspapers up to and including the year 2020. Data categorised were mapped to assign a sum of news articles about touristification issues at neighbourhood level. Density mapping shows a common pattern for each category: an over-representation of the city centre and a reduction in the number of news items per neighbourhood as we move away from the old town. A Pearson correlation coefficient shows a high spatial correlation between neighbourhoods in the press with several citizen initiatives geolocated on them. A spatial analysis shows where the negative impacts of tourism intensification happen, which may serve as a basis for the local administrations to develop an urban policy to safeguard residential use in those neighbourhoods under tourism pressure. This work serves as a basis for new research on touristification: the addition of case studies to identify common urban patterns and the definition of a social conflict index through the geolocation of the stakeholders involved.