Rural tourism in Catalonia and Galicia: Some unsolved problems

This paper analyses some of the results of a research project that is being carried out in the Spanish regions (Comunidades Autónomas) of Catalonia and Galicia. The overall objective of the research project is to complete a map of rural tourism at a national level in Spain and to establish quality standards for rural tourism indicators for the entire country. In this instance, the main purpose is to outline the repercussions of rural tourism activities on local development. This leads the authors to question the viability of the resulting forms of rural tourism, as significant regional differences have developed, and these create difficulties for commercializing the product at a national scale. The results are based on the analysis of interviews carried out in both of the study regions among the owners of houses that provide accommodation in rural areas and, at the same time, belong to some form of rural tourism association. The interviews applied qualitative methods in an attempt to identify the motives, the expectations and the future perspectives of the owners of rural tourism accommodation.