Tourism Business in Spanish National Parks: A Multidimensional Perspective of Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

In recent years, nature tourism has increased its prominence in the tourism market due to sociocultural change and greater concern for the environment in our society. In this sense, Spanish national parks have become important tourist destinations, increasing the number of visitors significantly in the last decade, exceeding 14.81 million in 2019. In addition to their incalculable ecological value, these protected natural spaces are a key factor in achieving the socioeconomic development of their rural area of influence. The main objective of the study is to contrast the development experienced by tourist businesses in the areas of socioeconomic influence of the Spanish national parks. This has been done from a multidimensional perspective: infrastructures, socioeconomic development, and the perception of the residents belonging to the area of influence of the parks. The indicators associated with each dimension have been compiled and a logit model was used to contrast the relationships between the different variables. The results confirmed that perceived economic development and infrastructure have a significant impact on tourism businesses. In conclusion, local socioeconomic development requires greater effective public–private partnerships to achieve business prosperity and a better quality of life as factors for the sustainability of nature tourism in national parks.