Tourism evolution in rural areas: a state of the art

Abstract

Rural tourism is born as an activity linked to rural accommodation and farming practices. Step by step, the tourist practice in rural areas diversified itself and included specialized culture and nature related activities. Spa users and hikers were the first to explore the Pyrenees, but it was not until the rise of mass tourism in mountain regions –skiing–, when suitable zones of the Pyrenees began to develop tourism, too often linked to economic development excessively and exclusively. Thus, current research deals with the literature in relation to rural tourism in mountain destinations, its beginnings and its evolution in the context of the Catalan Pyrenees.

Keywords: local development, mountain destinations, Catalan Pyrenees, tourism in rural areas, Vall de Boí.