RURAL TOURISM AND URBAN SPRAWL IN INLAND AREAS. Socio-spatial risk assessment

Rural tourism is generally recognized as a booster for sustainable development of inland areas, but two research-actions would be necessary in advance: a local diagnosis of touristic processes and a risk assessment for those processes in affected areas. This article concerns the sociological and spatial risk analysis of urban sprawl in rural areas. As a case study, 29 municipalities in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula (formed as a "comarca", North of Huelva province) are considered. Urban sprawl has been identified by specific literature as a threat for sustainable development in touristic areas, in coastal zones and in rural areas too. Based on the results of previous diagnosis, and the literature on socio-environmental risks and impacts of residential tourism, two specific risk indicators are selected and analysed, in relation to local touristic models.