The spatial structure of tourist accommodation and hotel demand in Spain

Tourism in Spain has developed dramatically in recent decades but the growth of the tourist industry has not been experienced evenly throughout the country. Tourism is largely concentrated in a small number of essentially coastal and insular provinces. Analysis by principal components shows that significant regional variations occur in the demand for hotels from different national groups but, with the exception of the French, the spatial preferences of each nationality have remained remarkably constant in the period 1965–1980. However, as growth rates have differed from market to market, so the demand for hotels has developed at different rates from one province to another. Regional variations in the seasonality of demand also occur. These findings highlight the need for further geographical studies such as this to provide more spatial detail than is to be found in most national studies and at the same time to supply the synthesis which unrelated regional or local case studies lack.