Perceived Rural Development in UNESCO Global Geoparks in Spain
The tourism management of geoparks is an excellent way of achieving sustainable development in rural areas and improving the quality of life of the resident population while respecting their natural and cultural heritage. Spain is the country with the second highest number of geoparks in the world a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/7/1086 |
| _version_ | 1797445788268232704 |
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| author | Esteban Pérez-Calderón Jorge Manuel Prieto-Ballester Vanessa Miguel-Barrado |
| author_facet | Esteban Pérez-Calderón Jorge Manuel Prieto-Ballester Vanessa Miguel-Barrado |
| author_sort | Esteban Pérez-Calderón |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The tourism management of geoparks is an excellent way of achieving sustainable development in rural areas and improving the quality of life of the resident population while respecting their natural and cultural heritage. Spain is the country with the second highest number of geoparks in the world and the first in Europe. This study aims to find out how rural development is perceived by the highest political representatives of the municipalities affected by the declaration of geoparks in Spain, considering the dimensions of economic and social development and the infrastructures of the environment. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analysed with the structural equation modelling technique. The results reveal that the local perception of the geopark declaration is conditioned, firstly, by the perceived economic and tourism development, followed by the development of the surrounding infrastructure and social development. In conclusion, good tourism planning in these areas, increased recreational use, and the services offered by local businesses are necessary to improve the way of life for these rural populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:31:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d7c309b08224be99574642d0d154545 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:31:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d7c309b08224be99574642d0d1545452023-11-30T21:17:04ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2022-07-01117108610.3390/land11071086Perceived Rural Development in UNESCO Global Geoparks in SpainEsteban Pérez-Calderón0Jorge Manuel Prieto-Ballester1Vanessa Miguel-Barrado2Faculty of Economics, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, SpainFaculty of Education, University of La Rioja, 26006 Logroño, SpainFaculty of Business, Finance and Tourism, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, SpainThe tourism management of geoparks is an excellent way of achieving sustainable development in rural areas and improving the quality of life of the resident population while respecting their natural and cultural heritage. Spain is the country with the second highest number of geoparks in the world and the first in Europe. This study aims to find out how rural development is perceived by the highest political representatives of the municipalities affected by the declaration of geoparks in Spain, considering the dimensions of economic and social development and the infrastructures of the environment. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analysed with the structural equation modelling technique. The results reveal that the local perception of the geopark declaration is conditioned, firstly, by the perceived economic and tourism development, followed by the development of the surrounding infrastructure and social development. In conclusion, good tourism planning in these areas, increased recreational use, and the services offered by local businesses are necessary to improve the way of life for these rural populations.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/7/1086rural developmenttourism business managementgeoparksgeotourismsustainable tourismpartial least squares |
| spellingShingle | Esteban Pérez-Calderón Jorge Manuel Prieto-Ballester Vanessa Miguel-Barrado Perceived Rural Development in UNESCO Global Geoparks in Spain Land rural development tourism business management geoparks geotourism sustainable tourism partial least squares |
| title | Perceived Rural Development in UNESCO Global Geoparks in Spain |
| title_full | Perceived Rural Development in UNESCO Global Geoparks in Spain |
| title_fullStr | Perceived Rural Development in UNESCO Global Geoparks in Spain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceived Rural Development in UNESCO Global Geoparks in Spain |
| title_short | Perceived Rural Development in UNESCO Global Geoparks in Spain |
| title_sort | perceived rural development in unesco global geoparks in spain |
| topic | rural development tourism business management geoparks geotourism sustainable tourism partial least squares |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/7/1086 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT estebanperezcalderon perceivedruraldevelopmentinunescoglobalgeoparksinspain AT jorgemanuelprietoballester perceivedruraldevelopmentinunescoglobalgeoparksinspain AT vanessamiguelbarrado perceivedruraldevelopmentinunescoglobalgeoparksinspain |