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

2.1.2 Mature Tourist Destinations.
The beaches of the Mediterranean continue to be the world's no. 1 tourist attraction, despite the
competition since the late 80s from new destinations (the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Oceans,
etc.) and the development of new tourist-oriented practices (resurgence of rural tourism, theme
parks, natural spaces, adventure sports, industrial tourism, urban and metropolitan tourism, etc.),
which offer a renewed and different range of products which differ from the "sun & sand" of
traditional destinations.
The "sun & sand" mass-tourism model which is characteristic of the Mediterranean coastline has
led both to the spectacular urban, demographic and economic growth of tiny seaside localities
inhabited by farmers and fishermen (who now live off tourism and for tourism) and to the growing
deterioration of its natural setting.
This deterioration is due on one hand to the enormous proliferation of tourist-oriented infrastructures
and facilities, both in terms of accommodations (hotels, apartments, second-home residential
estates, camping grounds, etc.) and of complementary services targeting the tourist trade (bars,
restaurants, discotheques, golf courses, water parks, etc.), and on the other hand to the effects
caused by thousands of visitors, year after year (pollution, over-taxing of resources, etc.). Of
course, to this impact we must add those caused by the local population. Thus, altogether, the
landscape of Mediterranean coasts has changed over the years: the grey of the concrete has
replaced the green of the trees. Obviously, this does not mean that infrastructures are not
necessary or that they are evil or wicked in and of themselves. We only take note here of the
change in the landscape of these coastal areas.
Causes fot the Exhaustion of the Model.
The coastal tourism model, as it has been developed over all these years, is obsolete and is
condemned to renovate itself, despite continuing to be the predominant international model of
tourism. The main causes which indicate that the model is exhausting itself can be summarised in
the following:
1. New trends in tourist demand compared to twenty years ago, with a preference for:
- Uniqueness.
- Differentiation.
- Apparent authenticity (theme-based).
- Non-deteriorated areas.
- Experience in the tourism phenomenon.
- Activity. Today's tourists are active and participative. They no longer wish only to roast in the sun
and go out at night. Instead, they seek complementary activities (outings, cultural visits, sports,
etc.) and they-tan wish to decide for themselves what they are going to do and not be tied
down to what the tour operators have planned for them.
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