CATS will hold the Tourism Online Forum Series (TOFS) vol.45 on Thursday, February 13. Anyone is welcome to attend. We look forward to your participation.
*This forum has been finished. Archived videos are available on CATS official YouTube.
▶ Tourism Online Forum Series (TOFS) vol.45
▶ Click here for other archived videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4z592IeJi3FNJ98VevfDYA
Mass and Fiesta Tourism in the Balearic Islands:
Segregation, Elitization, and Green Grabbing
Abstract:
Recent legislation in the Balearic Islands targets mass and fiesta tourism, promoting the exclusion of lower-income tourists and the elitization of the islands. This strategy seeks to attract wealthier visitors and their capital, reinforcing the allure of islands as exclusive, luxury destinations. These spatial strategies foster territorial conflicts, particularly over coastal access, which is increasingly privatized for high-end residences and tourism. Paradoxically, efforts to protect the territory unite various groups in opposing unchecked urbanization, advocating for the preservation of natural spaces. Reducing tourist flows emerges as a luxury-based response to overtourism, framed as a "green" fix through green grabbing. However, the mobilization against this new form of territorial appropriation is waning, as debates over energy consumption, social exclusion, and infrastructure expansion generate less consensus, complicating efforts to address the climate emergency and sustainability.
Keywords: Sustainability, Elitization, Green Grabbing, Tourism Destination, Spatial Planning
Hosted by: Hokkaido University, Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS)
Date/Time: Thursday 13 February 2025 | 18:30-20:00 (JST)
Venue: Online (Zoom Webinar)
Language: English
Capacity: 50 persons
Participation fee: Free to join (pre-registration system)
Speaker: Dr. Macià Blázquez-Salom
Bio:
Macià Blázquez-Salom is a Professor of Geography at the Universitat de les Illes Balears, Spain. His research interests include tourism, sustainability and spatial planning. He is the coordinator of the Critical Geographies research group in the Department of Geography at the University of the Balearic Islands. He has been visitor scholar in universities of Mexico (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México and Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste), Nicaragua (UNAN-Managua), Dominican Republic (INTEC), Austria (Paris Lodron Universität Salzburg), Germany (Ruhr-Universität Bochum), Sweden (Mittuniversitetet), Japan (Wakayama University), the Netherlands (Wageningen University and Research) and the United Kingdom (Liverpool John Moores University). As a way to link activism and research, he collaborates with social movements, particularly in the Spain
(https://www.gobmallorca.com/) and Latin America (https://www.albasud.org/).
Moderator: Dr. Meng Qu
Registration:
Please register at the URL below.
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3eS55uPFSRWZXdNF0syIww
Contact:
Hokkaido University, Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS)
online-forum(at)cats.hokudai.ac.jp
*Please replace the (at) part with @.
