Hiking as a tourist proposal to fight against depopulationthe case of the inland area of the province of Castellón

Laburpena

Introduction The doctoral thesis "Hiking as a tourist proposal to fight against depopulation: the case of the interior of the province of Castellón" will represent a study of the phenomenon of depopulation in relation to one of the most important activities of the regional, national, and international economy, tourism. At the same time, it will be linked to one of the most successful activities in the field of tourism, sports activities in nature, more specifically, hiking. All of this will be framed in a specific region of the Valencian Community: the interior of the province of Castellón. A unique area which, due to its natural, heritage and cultural characteristics, can represent a perfect test bench that can generate a turning point for the application and replication of tourism products and services in the rest of the Spanish regions. Methodology A qualitative methodology has been designed for this study. On the one hand, a total of 18 semi-structured interviews were carried out, lasting between 40 and 70 minutes. The profiles of the people interviewed included various agents involved in sports tourism in both the private and public spheres. These agents have direct contact with users/excursionists through the different services and/or products they offer. In addition to this, 2 focus groups have been carried out with profiles similar to the interviews, including members of the local population. All the information collection work has been carried out between September 2019 and November 2021. Both the interviews and the focus groups were conducted in a quiet space, so as not to have any element that would distort the opinion of each of the participants. In order to carefully follow the scientific literature on working techniques, a series of rules were explained to the informants depending on the technique used. The selected profiles respond to the double geographical and professional criteria. On the one hand, in terms of professional criteria, the different profiles of participants involved in the field of tourism and heritage have been selected. On the other hand, as far as the geographical criteria are concerned, an attempt has been made to represent the largest number of localities in the research area. In order to carry out the information analysis procedure, the script was elaborated and standardised according to a series of established variables that allowed the researchers to find out which heritage elements are the most used to improve the quality of the experience, as well as what kind of promotional strategies were being implemented. Results In the results section, four large blocks of information are analysed. The conjunction of these interdependent and complementary categories allows us to provide a response and make the most scientific possible construction of the intersection between the phenomenon of depopulation, sports tourism and hiking. Firstly, the socio-demographic profile of visitors to the destination studied has been established qualitatively. The study of the different variables is necessary in order to characterise the different profiles that visit the area. This information allows the various interest groups to segment services and products adapted to their needs. At the same time, it also represents a good indicator of the state of specialisation of the different hiking accommodation in the area. Secondly, following the scientific literature on tourist attraction factors, 4 key elements have been analysed in this relationship: accessibility to the location, the accommodation options available, the quality and quantity of entertainment and the novelty of the territory. Thirdly, and following on from the previous idea, the analysis of the great variety of existing heritage elements is very important. Knowing the environment and the possibilities it offers can represent a competitive advantage for the different hiking accommodations. Finally, an analysis was made of the role played by new technologies in the management and promotion of destinations. Conclusions Based on the analysis of all the information, a series of very interesting conclusions have been drawn. The sports tourism sub-sector has experienced a very strong growth in total numbers in recent years. This growth has also been observed in very specific geographical areas such as rural and mountain areas, a growth that has been boosted by the COVID-19 health crisis. Among the variety of activities in the field of sports tourism, hiking is one of the most interesting for several reasons. Firstly, it is an activity that can be practised by the vast majority of the public. Secondly, it can be linked to other cultural and social activities, which further enriches the activity. Hiking, as a tourist activity, represents a differentiating element in the tourist experience. In spite of all this, the information obtained from informants has confirmed the low specialisation of the sports tourism sector and even more so for products related to hiking. This factor has several interpretations: on the one hand, accommodation can use other resources or attraction factors to reach a larger number of visitors. On the other hand, there is a risk of losing this flow of visitors to other more specialised destinations. In relation to the above, this factor can at the same time represent a great opportunity for the sports tourism sector through the management and implementation of various strategies. First, customer segmentation. Knowing the socio-demographic profile of the visitor is one of the most important tasks of the tourism industry. Second, digital tools have developed enormously in recent years. Their link to the various productive fields and sectors has been very powerful. In the field of tourism, digitalisation is very present and represents one of the great challenges of the future, in order to achieve a more sustainable and higher quality tourism. In the more practical field of tourism, digital tools allow for improvements in the field of promotion and marketing, as more potential clients can be reached; and in the field of internal management, making some of the management tasks more agile. Thirdly, one of the main motivations of tourists is the attractiveness of the cultural and natural landscape around the accommodation. In this sense, the owners of hotel establishments should promote this heritage in order to improve customer satisfaction. We have detected a low level of promotion of the natural and cultural heritage associated with the territory of the establishments. We recommend that those in charge of tourist establishments should value and promote this cultural heritage. The positive aspects of this tourism activity in rural areas outweigh the possible threats to the heritage, which in any case should not be underestimated. This strategy will increase the number of visitors as well as improve their satisfaction.