The encounter of agriculture and tourism a catalan case

A village on the Spanish Costa Dorada was the setting of the fieldwork on economic and social impacts of tourism on the local, native population. In contrast to the general belief among Mediterraneanists that the influence of tourist development on agriculture is deleterious, the case of Cambrils shows that this need not be so. Tourism has promoted agriculture directly and indirectly. Also the form and distribution of landed property, the prevailing inheritance practices, the availability of new land further from the coast, the quality of the soil, presence of water, and the crucially important role of the active local agricultural cooperative have contributed to the success of native farmers in Cambrils. The problems they face are general problems of agriculture and cannot be laid at the door of tourism.