Territorial Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism. An Opportunity for Rural Development in Spain

Abstract

The interest in knowing how tourism demand has behaved in rural areas during the pandemic is justified by the role that tourism can play in mitigating the problems suffered by sparsely populated areas. The objective is to identify, on solid statistical basis, the features that have characterized the recent evolution of the demand for rural tourism. The Spanish case suggests, on the one hand, that rural tourism has had a more favourable dynamic than urban tourism during the pandemic. On the other hand, the evidence confirms that, during the months of July, August and September 2020 and 2021, when some of the measures to try to contain the spread of the virus were relaxed, rural tourism demand reached historical levels due to the impulse of residents who directed, to a large extent, their tourist demand towards their own regions. Consequently, there is an opportunity for sustainable rural development based on tourism through the implementation of strategies in the private sphere that build loyalty of demand and, in the public sphere, improving accessibility and articulating promotional campaigns by the Autonomous Communities themselves, especially aimed at their residents.