Agenda XXI LLORET DE MAR (GB) - Ajuntament de Lloret de Mar

2.1
22.
A NECESSARY CHANGE OF COURSE.
THE MATURING PROCESS.
2.1.1 Tourism in the Mediterranean.
Throughout history, the various peoples who have inhabited the Mediterranean Basin have
nurtured strong ties to the presence of the sea. Phoenicians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Romans,
Byzantines, Ottomans, Arabs, Catalans, Genovese, Venetians... all of them voyaging peoples,
conquerors, merchants, fishermen, with the Mediterranean as the witness and protagonist of their
birth, expansion and decline.
The scenic beauty of its coastlines, its pleasant climate, the proximity to major source markets and
the fact that it is the birthplace of Western culture, among other reasons, have made the northwestern
Mediterranean coast the world's top tourist destination since the start of the tourist boom,
with an overwhelming domination which has been threatened in recent years by the emergence
of new destinations, both in the Mediterranean Basin itself (the Near East, Northern Africa) and
faraway seas (Caribbean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans).
Tourism is one of society's most important phenomena in recent decades, both economically and
socially, to the extent that one speaks of a veritable tourist industry since it has become one of the
world's most important economic sectors, ahead of other more traditional sectors like the oil or
automobile industries. For example, tourism revenues world-wide reached US$423,022 million in
1996, with over 500 million tourists.
Tourism's role is even more important in the Mediterranean. Another example: Spain, France and
Italy occupied the second, third and fourth place in the ranking of international tourism revenues in
1996, with income approaching US$28,000 million each. Together, the three account for
nearly 20% of world tourism. Even so, they lag far behind the absolute leader, the U.S., with
revenues from tourism topping US$64,373 million, 15.2% of the world total. And yet another
example: of the 5 countries with most tourist arrivals in 1997, 3 are Mediterranean (France,
Spain and Italy); of the top 20, 5 are Mediterranean (the three mentioned above plus Greece
and Turkey).
The enormous economic and social power wielded by the tourist trade has radically changed the
Mediterranean coast and its peoples. Today, this coastline is enormously modified and
humanised, threatened by anthropic action, especially in those locations where tourism has had
the longest impact. Few coastal areas can still boast a truly "natural" appearance. Man's imprint
can be seen in the edification of most coastal areas, in the mass use of the beaches, in the water
pollution, in the receding coastline...
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