Desarrollo local y turismo industrialel caso de España y Portugal

Abstract

Tourism is identified as an engine for socioeconomic development. In fact, tourism is increasingly considered an effective tool to mitigate problems in several territories and, specifically, in industrial areas (Edwards and Llurdés i Coit, 1996; Llurdés i Coit, 1999, Hospers, 2002, Castillo, López and Millán, 2010, Prat and Diaz, 2014). In this context, industrial tourism appears as a tourist typology that tries to take advantage of the potential cultural interest that visitors have on the heritage of industrialization (industrial historical heritage and active industrial heritage). Thus, the general objective of this doctoral thesis is to analyze the contribution of industrial tourism to local development. To realise this analysis, four destinations have been chosen as part of the industrial tourism offer in Spain (Las Médulas in León, Taramundi in Asturias, Ferrol in Galicia) and Portugal (Vila Nova de Gaia). The methodology combined qualitative approach (bibliographic review, cabinet work, in-depth interviews with local and academic experts and participant observation) accompanied by a quantitative methodology (surveys).