Title: Dynamics of Spanish tourism policy: the political system as a driver and policy instruments as indicators of change (1952-2015)

Authors: María Velasco

Addresses: Faculty of Political Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, 28223 Madrid, Spain

Abstract: This article focuses on the question of how changes in the political system affect tourism policy, if they affect it at all. The first section describes the article's analytical design and main theoretical concepts. The second section analyses the links between key features of the Spanish political system over a prolonged period of time (1952-2014) and long-term variations in indicators of change. Finally, this work sets out the conclusions that changes in the political system do not have a relevant impact on tourism policy. In spite of the fact that many significant political modifications can be observed, no clear relationship can be found between these political events and changes in Spanish tourism policy goals, means or tools. Thus, profound changes within the political system do not seem to be a critical factor in the evolution and variation of Spain's tourism policy.

Keywords: tourism policy; Spain; path dependency; political systems; politics; policy changes; implementation tools; change indicators.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2016.081526

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2016 Vol.6 No.3/4, pp.256 - 272

Received: 17 Dec 2015
Accepted: 05 Apr 2016
Published online: 11 Jan 2017 *

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