ALBERT

Description: In Spain, hiking is an activity that involves following paths, which may or may not be signposted, on foot, for sporting and cultural purposes. In the country as a whole, although with important regional variations, hiking has traditionally been linked to mountaineering and rambling clubs. However, at the beginning of the 1990s this activity became much more widely popular, reaching beyond the more limited sphere within which the pioneers of hiking in Spain had acted. Hiking stopped being just a sporting and cultural activity and also became a form of tourism and leisure, coinciding with the emergence and consolidation of what have become known as alternative forms of tourism. In this context of change, hiking tourism has gradually evolved over the years into a strategic option for development in many territories. This article presents the most important aspects of this transformation: the changes in the territorial model for the management of the paths on which the creation of hiking tourism products is based; the fact that in the design of routes more consideration is being given to the differential characteristics of tourist demand for hiking; the adaptation of the accommodation, restaurant facilities and the main specific services associated with it; and the emergence and engagement of new stakeholders in the processes of planning, distribution and communication of this activity.

Description: Fungi are some of the most diverse organisms on earth and since prehistoric times have played an important role in human society. In recent years they have become a strategic asset not only in the conservation and management of ecosystems but also as a resource for halting the exodus from rural areas in peripheral Mediterranean regions, such as inland eastern Spain. In view of this important ecological and socioeconomic role, in this paper we present a geographical analysis of edible fungi, paying particular attention to the Spanish case. To this end we carried out a bibliographic review of the climatic factors affecting the fruiting of these fungi and the socioeconomic aspects of their commercial exploitation. We also performed an online search for mycotourism-related activities and explored the statistical data on the cultivation of edible mushrooms and its economic impact. Our main findings include a synthesis of the international research on the effects of climatic variability on the natural production of macrofungi, and an assessment of the economic viability and the social importance of mushrooms in Spain, in particular in relation to the current and future potential of mushroom cultivation and the multifunctional management and use of forests.

Description: Physical activity is an increasingly frequent part of our leisure time. Within this context, hiking is a popular form of tourism which has a positive impact on the quality of life. In spite of the importance of climate conditions for this recreational activity, relatively little research has been done on hiking from the perspective of climate and tourism. With this in mind in this paper we make the first detailed extensive assessment of climate preferences for the practice of hiking tourism in Spain. To this end a review of the theoretical/methodological body of literature on tourism climatology was conducted together with a survey aimed at evaluating the stated climate preferences of hiking tourists. The results are offered within the framework of international research on climate preferences for a range of tourism activities. The comparative analysis of these results with regard to those obtained in previous research highlights various similarities but also certain factors specific to hiking in Spain. Overall, the climate preferences of hiking tourists are similar to those of other segments of the tourism market in terms of the aesthetic and physical aspects of the climate, although they also have certain specific preferences as regards thermal aspects, especially regarding the optimal daily thermal conditions for hiking. The results obtained are useful for assessing the suitability of the climate for the practice of hiking tourism in Spain and for promoting proper management and planning of this leisure activity in tourist destinations, including the development of climate calendars detailing the most suitable times of the year for hiking at these destinations. These issues will be addressed in future research studies.

Description: This paper presents findings relating to the territorial processes underlying the distribution and location of P2P accommodation in rural parts of Catalonia by establishing a system for classifying rural municipalities based on the volume and growth rate of the supply of this tourist accommodation, its share of the total supply of tourist accommodation, the pressure on the local population, and the function of this supply of accommodation in the regional tourism context. According to the findings, there are three distinct types of rural municipality: (a) Rural municipalities where the volume and growth of the supply of this accommodation are striking, these municipalities are located in the coastal hinterland and in high mountain areas, both of which enjoy high levels of tourism. This supply of accommodation plays a key role in the expansion of the areas of influence of well-established tourist destinations, (b) rural municipalities where this supply of accommodation presents an average volume and growth rate, located in inland areas of Catalonia and in high mountain regions with non-mass tourism development models specializing in rural tourism. This supply is helping boost tourism by expanding and diversifying the range of accommodation, and (c) rural municipalities where no tourist accommodation was available before the arrival of P2P accommodation. These are municipalities in inland areas with a strong agricultural presence, where P2P accommodation is paving the way for tourism.

Description: In Spain, hiking is an activity that involves following paths, which may or may not be signposted, on foot, for sporting and cultural purposes. In the country as a whole, although with important regional variations, hiking has traditionally been linked to mountaineering and rambling clubs. However, at the beginning of the 1990s this activity became much more widely popular, reaching beyond the more limited sphere within which the pioneers of hiking in Spain had acted. Hiking stopped being just a sporting and cultural activity and also became a form of tourism and leisure, coinciding with the emergence and consolidation of what have become known as alternative forms of tourism. In this context of change, hiking tourism has gradually evolved over the years into a strategic option for development in many territories. This article presents the most important aspects of this transformation: the changes in the territorial model for the management of the paths on which the creation of hiking tourism products is based; the fact that in the design of routes more consideration is being given to the differential characteristics of tourist demand for hiking; the adaptation of the accommodation, restaurant facilities and the main specific services associated with it; and the emergence and engagement of new stakeholders in the processes of planning, distribution and communication of this activity.

Description: This study assesses, adapting the weather types method, the suitability of the climate in Jardines del Rey (Cuba) for the practice of sun and beach tourism over the period 1991–2014, and the potential future impacts of climate change on this form of tourism on the basis of outputs from the PRECIS-Caribbean Regional Climate Model for the period 2021–2050. The methodology applied makes a classification of daily situations according to the most frequent combinations of climatological variables in tropical areas while focusing on a very specific segment of the tourism market (sun and beach tourism) and taking into account the behaviour of beach users and bioclimatic criteria. The results indicate that the distribution of weather types at the destination during the period 1991–2014 was highly consistent with the monthly distribution of tourists in Cuba, highlighting the existence of a low season from May to October and a high season between November and April. The future scenarios project an improvement in climate conditions for the practice of sun and beach tourism. This improvement is not based on a spectacular increase in favourable weather types compared to unfavourable ones, but rather on a better distribution of both.