Abstract
Coastal areas globally are facing a significant range of environmental stresses, enhanced by climate change-related processes and a continuous increase of human activities. The economic benefits of tourism are well-known for coastal regions, but, very often, conflicts arise between short-term benefits and long-term conservation goals. Among beach user preferences, five parameters of greater importance stand out from the rest, i.e., safety, facilities, water quality, litter and scenery; the latter is the main concern of this study. A coastal scenic evaluation was carried out in the Balearic Islands and focused on two major issues: coastal scenic beauty together with sensitivity to natural processes and human pressure. The archipelago is renowned as a top international coastal tourist destination that receives more than 13.5 million visitors (2019). Impressive landscape diversity makes the Balearics Islands an ideal field for this research. In total, 52 sites, respectively located in Ibiza (11), Formentera (5), Mallorca (18) and Menorca (18), were field-tested. In a first step, coastal scenic beauty was quantified using the coastal scenic evaluation system (CSES) method, based on the evaluation of 26 physical and human parameters, and using weighting matrices parameters and fuzzy logic mathematics. An evaluation index (“D”) was obtained for each site, allowing one to classify them in one of the five scenic classes established by the method. Twenty-nine sites were included in class I, corresponding to extremely attractive sites (CSES), which were mainly observed in Menorca. Several sound measures were proposed to maintain and/or enhance sites’ scenic value. In a second step, scenic sensitivity was evaluated using a novel methodological approach that makes possible the assessment of three different coastal scenic sensitivity indexes (CSSI), i.e., the natural sensitivity index NSI, the human sensitivity index HSI and the total sensitivity index TSI. Future climate change trends and projection of tourism development, studied at municipality scale, were considered as correction factors. All the islands showed places highly sensitive to environmental processes, while sensitivity to human pressure was essentially observed at Ibiza and Mallorca. Thereafter, sites were categorized into one of three sensitive groups established by the methodology. Results obtained are useful in pointing out very sensitive sceneries as well as limiting, preventing and/or anticipating future scenic degradation linked to natural and human issues.
Highlights
Interest in coastal areas has been growing in the last few decades, and coastal tourist markets are today considered as one of the world’s largest industries [1,2], and worldwide tourist arrivals are expected to reach USD 1.8 billion by 2030 [3]
Williams [10] showed that five parameters are of the greatest significance to coastal tourists, i.e., safety, facilities, water quality, litter and scenery; and this paper mainly focuses on the latter, which is defined as “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors” [11] (p.32)
Mongofra (Menorca), located within the natural park Albufera des Grau, the core area of the Menorca Biosphere Reserve, shows a very high scenic diversity with excellent scores at several physical parameters, e.g., cliff and beach characteristics, dune system, high vegetation cover, undulating landform and several special landscape features linked to coastal morphology: the presence of reefs, cliffs on the back of the beach and rocky edges (Figure 4A)
Summary
Interest in coastal areas has been growing in the last few decades, and coastal tourist markets are today considered as one of the world’s largest industries [1,2], and worldwide tourist arrivals are expected to reach USD 1.8 billion by 2030 [3]. In 2018, Southern and Mediterranean Europe led this market, recording 710 million international tourist arrivals in 2018 (51% from the European market) and incomes of USD 570 billion (39% of the total amount) [2]. Spain was the second worldwide country by international tourist arrivals and receipts [2]. Scenic methodologies can, in some cases, represent users’ typologies, their attitude about a specific scenic class associated with the beach they frequent and the willingness to pay to preserve that scenery [13] Some films are more sensitive than others; some minds are more receptive.” scenic methodologies can, in some cases, represent users’ typologies, their attitude about a specific scenic class associated with the beach they frequent and the willingness to pay to preserve that scenery [13]
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