Climate Preferences for Tourism: Perceptions Regarding Ideal and Unfavourable Conditions for Hiking in Spain
Metadatos
Afficher la notice complèteAuteur
Martínez Ibarra, Emilio; Gómez Martín, María Belén; Armesto López, Xosé Antón; Pardo Martínez, RubénEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Tourism climatology Hiking Preferences Spain
Date
2019-10-25Referencia bibliográfica
Martínez-Ibarra, E., Gómez-Martín, M. B., Armesto-López, X. A., & Pardo-Martínez, R. (2019). Climate Preferences for Tourism: Perceptions Regarding Ideal and Unfavourable Conditions for Hiking in Spain. Atmosphere, 10(11), 646.
Patrocinador
This research has been conducted within the framework of the R+D+i project with reference number CSO2017-88935-R (funded as part of the Spanish National R&D&I Plan of the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad) and with the support of the research groups 2017 SGR 25 (Grup de Recerca Consolidat Territori, Turisme, Canvi Climàtic) and SEJ170 (Paisaje, Planificación Territorial y Desarrollo Local).Résumé
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.