ICF presents study for the AWFT Legacy Project

SEVILLE RESIDENTS IDENTIFY BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF TOURISM

In March 2024, at ITB Berlin ICF presented the city of Seville with the results of recent focus group work done with the city’s residents. The results clearly indicate the residents are acknowledging the benefits of tourism but also the challenges.

A pilot qualitative study was conducted, the objectives being to understand key concerns, shed light on local societal dynamics, identify generational and gender differences, explore the relevance of topics and content, and introduce new concepts from the residents that they would like to be implemented. The study was carried out with a random, diverse group of residents from both private and public sectors in age groups ranging from 26 – 79. Locals mentioned many positive aspects, such as how tourism can affect the tangible culture, balanced by concerns on the changing norms of intangible culture, such as losing the tapas tradition in favor of formal dining. The impact of tourism on the environment was also recorded with the main concerns centered around city cleanliness and amount of water resources, noting though that tourism becomes a catalyst for further investments.

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As a result of the study, seven actions were then recommended to the City of Seville by the ICF team. These were:

1. Carry out a broader study including both qualitative and quantitative results 

2. Institutionalize resident engagement through participatory governance

3. Develop and plan tourism policies linked to the Seville’s carrying capacity

4. Promote and safeguard local culture and its intangible heritage

5. Monitor relationship challenges on housing and the interlinkages between locals and tourists

6. Develop a sustainable tourism action plan with local businesses, residents, and environmental authorities

7. Implement a strategy to reduce excessive dependence on tourism

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“ICF is proud to have led this project for the City of Seville, in partnership with A World for Travel and with the support of The Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council.  Above all, it is very encouraging having local authorities such as Seville placing the residents at the forefront of tourism development and planning. This is crucial because with growth come challenges and Seville is no exception. The residents had a lot say on the impact of tourism, both positive and negative, on the economy, local culture, environment, infrastructure, and how they live in the city. With this pilot study, we were able to record the residents’ priorities and then to devise the recommendations. As a tourism professional, I congratulate Seville for prioritizing social sustainability and the need of participatory governance”

— Nikolaos Gkolfinopoulos, Head of Tourism of ICF

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The A World For Travel event provides a legacy project at each edition of the event. In Evora, (Portugal) 2021 the city was provided with badly needed shade and decarbonization efforts; the development of the cultural offer in Nîmes (France) being recognized as a UNESCO site and in Seville in 2023 attention was focused on the local community.  The A World For Travel event in collaboration with Seville City Office and the support of the Global Travel & Tourism Council (GTTRC) will revisit these results at the AWFT 2024 event which will be held again in Seville October 25-28.