Oviedo (EFE).- A study carried out by the University of Oviedo reveals that high-speed lines contribute to reducing the seasonality of tourism by distributing visitor flows more evenly throughout the year, an effect that is It produces for national and international tourism, although to a greater degree for travelers from abroad.
The work, carried out by researchers David Boto and Leví Pérez, from the Fundamentals of Economic Analysis Area, and published in the “Journal of Transport Geography” magazine, reflects that the availability, frequency and connectivity offered by the different modes of public transport determine to a large extent the choice of destination, as visitors try to minimize travel times.
Given that the AVE network in Spain is radial with Madrid as the main backbone, and taking into account that the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport is the main route of arrival for international tourists, the study indicates that the availability of AVE increases the flows to the provinces with which the capital is connected, especially in low season.
In this sense, it maintains that the development of the high-speed network seems to be effective in reducing the concentration of tourist demand, which has a relevant influence on the economic activity derived from distributing tourist income more evenly throughout the year. anus.
On the other hand, the study indicates that connecting a province to the AVE network is not enough to improve its tourist data, but the degree of connectivity and accessibility “in terms of stations, lines, frequencies or provinces with which it is connected emerge as key aspects that explain the differences in the contribution of the AVE to tourist demand”.
The work was carried out using data from travelers staying in hotels at the provincial level in Spain in the period 2004-2019 and, for this, it was analyzed whether regional connectivity and accessibility through the AVE had an effect on tourist seasonality. EFE