Tourism in rural areas in Spain: Actresses and collective imagery

The objectives of this article are: to outline the evolution in tourism in rural areas, to analyse the progressive diversification of tourism in rural areas products, to draw attention to the role of women in this activities and to refer to the collective imagery on which tourism in rural areas is based. This form of tourism is emerging as an activity which contributes to the reduction of emigration from rural areas, constitutes a complementary source of income in the rural economy, generates benefits from cultural exchange between rural and urban environments, reasserts the rural way of life, and contributes to economic diversification.