Carmen MÍNGUEZ, Universidad Complutense de Madrid , Spain
Asunción BLANCO-ROMERO, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona , Spain
Macià BLÁZQUEZ-SALOM, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Spain
Inmaculada DÍAZ-SORIA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona , Spain
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on the tourism activity, highlighting the fragility of the sector, the dependence that many places have on it and its many economic, social, functional and environmental implications. The agents involved in its planning and management have denounced the situation and have addressed it in different ways, depending on their interests, the characteristics of the destination and the prior situation (overtourism or undertourism). The academic debate is focused on this polarisation and the possibility that this crisis constitutes an opportunity for change, in line with the demands of the social movements. However, this approach is not adopted by politicians, entrepreneurs or society in general, who are influenced by the media. In order to confirm this hypothesis, we have used qualitative analysis tools in order to measure frequencies and construct semantic networks. To do this, we have analysed 2,440 written press articles on tourism in Spain during the current COVD-19 pandemic, published in Spanish national, regional and local newspapers between 1st March and 31 August 2020. The results confirm that the news items provide an x-ray of the events and constitute a means for transmitting the economic and reactivation discourse defended by the institutions and interest groups.
Mots clés : overtourism|undertourism|actors|reactivation|COVID-19
A103331CM