María GARCÍA-HERNÁNDEZ, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Manuel DE LA CALLE-VAQUERO, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Sofía MENDOZA DE MIGUEL, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
In the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Spanish cities experienced an intense process of touristification, especially in historic centres. This process resulted in the growth of some problems encompassed under the term “overtourism”. The expansion of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 and the public health measures adopted have generated a new tourist stage: a stage of "zero tourism" in the first months and a stage of "undertourism" since then. This new situation is characterized by several aspects: 1. A reduction in external demand but a growth in the national tourist flow; 2). The uncertainty of business tourism in the face of the growth of leisure travel; 3). The paralysis of a hotel sector that contrasts with the adaptability of the tourist rental housing; 4). The reduction of activity in the hotel industry and other tourist businesses; etc.
This paper presents the preliminary results of the ADAPTATUR-Ciudad project, funded by the Spanish scientific administration. A general overview is made of the situation of urban tourism at the present time, and also investigates the responses adopted at the local level: mitigation strategies to offset some of the effects of the tourism crisis; promotion-oriented marketing strategies; safe tourism strategies linked to public health; etc. The final objective is to determine if the strategies and measures adopted are aimed at a recovery of the previous situation, associated with "overtourism", or involve a rethinking of the activity to make tourism a more sustainable activity in the cities.
Mots clés : Urban tourism|Tourism policy|Tourist Resilience
A103934MG