Analysis of citizen perception of vacation homes: the case of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain)

Abstract

Vacation home is a thriving form of accommodation in Spain that arouses great interest among academics from various disciplines. Most of the studies have focused on regulatory aspects, the type of business and the impact generated on tourism activity, the economy, urban spaces, the population and the environment. Few works have addressed the citizen perception of this type of accommodation, having focused on micro analyses. This paper analyzes the perception of the residents of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria based on a self-made survey that has been analyzed at a municipal and intra-urban scale. Specifically, it is proposed in this article to know the perception of residents about the impact that this type of accommodation has on the economy, housing, heritage, culture and neighborhood identity of the municipality and analyze the underlying reasons. The results allow us to recognize that, firstly, the opinion of the residents is not negative in general terms and, secondly, that this perception shares the economic rationality with which tourist activity in general is judged and is conditioned by the contact directly with the activity and for personal interests.