Periódico: Tourism and Hospitality International Journal
Fonte: Tourism and Hospitality International Journal ; Vol. 12 No. 1 (2019): March 2019 [21st Edition - EE]; 82-104
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Resumo: Hiking is an activity in continuous evolution and growth. Its connection with sports and tourism in natural enviroments is unquestionable. As the time passes by, it has become one of the recreational activities with greater social diffusion, practiced not only on daily basis as a leisure activity, but also increasingly in holiday periods. Hiking is an experience in contact with nature and compatible with other activities and initiatives and it has fostered the conservation of natural resources and the development of responsible rural tourism. The present work has among its objectives to outline the profile of the hiker of Castilla y León as a tourist, as well as to identify the main implications of hiking in the processes of developing an integral offer of sustainable rural tourism. The hypothesis is that hiking and rural tourism go together hand by hand and that hiking is not just a sport, but a first class tourist resource that serves to enhance the cultural and social heritage of a territory. For the analysis, a quantitative methodology is chosen. A sample of the total of federated walkers in Castilla y León is determined and the IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0 office suite is used to process the data. The main results suggest that hiking has a part of tourism. Beyond the natural space, the existence of an attractive complementary offer, constitute for the tourist-kiker key factors in the process of choosing a rural destination.
