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This was FiturNext 2024

Hamlet

How can tourism contribute to a more accessible society?


Last December 2020, the World Tourism Organisation identified accessibility as a paradigm shift for tourist destinations in order to recover from the impacts of the pandemic. This objective is key to achieving a balanced society and the tourism industry should not be oblivious to this fact.

Windmills on a hill

Good practices

In this latest edition of FiturNext, the Observatory analysed good tourism practices that contribute to the revitalisation of depopulated territories. The winning initiatives of the challenge were the following:

  • Genalguacil Pueblo Museo: Initiative whose objective is to combat depopulation through the fusion of art, culture, tradition and nature, creating a municipality with artistic and cultural tourist attraction.
  • Recartografías: Research and action association whose aim is to raise awareness of the problem of depopulation in rural areas and to offer development solutions through land stewardship and tourism.
  • El Camino del Cid: Cultural tourism route of some 2,000 km that runs through territories with low population density (43% of these towns have less than 100 inhabitants, 80% suffer from depopulation), thus promoting their economic and social development through tourism.
Man in a wheelchair in front of the sea.

Why is this challenge important?

According to the United Nations, in 2018, 55% of the world's population lived in cities, a percentage that is expected to increase by 70% by 2050.  These cities consume 75% of the world's energy resources and emit 80% of the carbon that pollutes the environment, leading to the saturation of spaces and services. 

In addition, the spaces that are "emptied" become lonely areas that suffer from a lack of basic local services, accessibility, mobility, opportunities and connectivity.  In this way, the so-called "demotanasia" is generated, understood as the slow and silent disappearance of a territory's population. This phenomenon not only worsens people's quality of life, but also contributes to the abandonment of crops, the desertification and acidification of territories and the neglect of fire environments.

Fitur Next Report

Download our report

Read the report 'FiturNext 2024: Towards territorial revitalisation through tourism' and consult all the details of the edition.

2024 FiturNext report

Fitur Next 2024 Streaming

FiturNext 2024 Challenge: How tourism can contribute to territorial revitalisation

Winners

Genalguacil

Genaguacil Pueblo Museo

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People listening to the explanation of a guide

Recartografías

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Cyclists on a route

El Camino del Cid

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Finalists

jachal

Jáchal Tierra Adentro

smithy

Escuela de Herreros

Mama uma

Mama uma

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Abriendo Pueblos by T-Guío

Abriendo Pueblos by T-Guío

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happy people

AlmaNatura

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Centro Expositivo ROM

Agencia Catalana de Turismo

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Forest

Montañas Vacías

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Eurovelo

Eurovelo

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People picking fruit

Best Tourism Villages

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FiturNext 2024 Winners Webinar

FiturNext 2024 Winners Webinar