Coastal Tourist Destinations in Spain: Growth, Social Reaction and Answers – Practices for a Post-growth Scenario.

Abstract

In Spain, the coastline represents the most important tourist area, in terms of volume, market recognition, employment, businesses, territorial transformation, but also in terms of significant social change and environmental degradation. The scarce strategies to curb the social conflicts generated by the ever-growing urban-tourist model and the commercialisation of the territory have provoked a social reaction against tourist projects. Many of these reactions favour citizen currents, ideas and practices close to the post-growth concept. The aim of this chapter is to analyse the conflicts caused by constant urban-tourist growth in Spanish coastal destinations through the social reactions of citizens. To this end, we analyse a series of cases along the Spanish coast where social movements have promoted deurbanisation projects, ecological regeneration, protection of agricultural and natural spaces and innovative legal measures for environmental justice. In the long term, these practices contribute to a higher quality and sustainability of the territory.