1185 | 551 | MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE TOURISM SECTOR: THE CASE OF THE VALENCIAN COMMUNITY VALENCIAN COMMUNITY

Although the tourism model implemented in Spain since the end of the 1950s has made the tourism sector one of the most dynamic in the national economy, it has also been characterized by serious socioeconomic and environmental impacts in the environments in which it has developed. This phenomenon is particularly relevant in the Valencian Community, where tourism is the basis of its productive structure. In this sense, in this research we have proceeded to the development and application of a system of indicators in order to delimit what have been the trends of tourism sustainability in the Valencian region during the years 2011-2019. The results obtained show that, for the period of analysis, thia model is far from converging towards a fully sustainable model. Regarding the socioeconomic dimension of the Valencian tourism model, we highlight the high dependence of the Valencian economy on this sector. The weight of the tourist GDP shows an upward trend, which has meant a reduction of the weight of other sectors that historically took special relevance in the Valencian productive framework, such as the industrial or agricultural sectors. Consequently, the weight of tourist employment has also followed an upward trend. This fact becomes relevant if we focus on the conditions of these jobs, since in the sector, temporary contracts prevail over permanent ones, which negatively affects essential aspects of personal fulfillment and welfare of Valencian workers. These characteristics have also had an impact on certain social indicators: the massive arrival of tourists has led to an increase in the supply of tourist rentals, which has increased the price of housing. On the other hand, in its environmental dimension, if we take into account that Valencia is a region extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, this model is characterized by carrying out practices that do not contribute to mitigate their effects but rather reinforce them: CO2 emissions, water consump

Maria Mifsud Fons
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
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