Tourism planning, promotion and environmental sustainability: the case of Spain

In terms of tourist destination's sustainable development, planning plays a key role, and an important part is the tourist promotion. In the case of Spain, the boom of tourism in the 50s meant a high level of income and popularity but also serious damage in the environment when tourist sustainability didn't receive attention yet. For the tourist development of a destination to be sustainable, the establishment of appropriate strategic plans is needed. Thus, thanks to the study of a real case, this paper allows the analysis of the influence of tourist promotion in the evolution of a tourist destination towards the sustainability. The method used has been double: firstly, Spanish government's official documentation has been reviewed in order to confirm the evolution of Spanish tourist planning in relation to sustainability; secondly, tourist promotion images and campaigns has been analyzed to verify the evolution of the conveyed image and its influence in the sustainable development of Spanish tourism. This analysis confirms that tourist promotion has played a main role in the development and growth of Spain as a tourist destination, proving that its adaptation to market's needs and sustainability was fundamental. Therefore, it is verified that tourist promotion - within a general planning strategy-means a key aspect for an appropriate development of a tourist destination.