Micro-Destination: A Perspective Of Analysis And Management To Tourism Development

Abstract

This paper presents the tourism micro-destination perspective and their categories of classification, as well as, the advantages of using this unit to the analysis and management in the tourism sector. This perspective is contextualized through the case study of Gran Canaria tourism destination, in Spain, which defined 14 micro-destinations in its tourism system. The identification of small geographic areas in which tourism is a driver activity contributes to the development of policies and programs mostly effective because considers the homogenization of these areas, and consequently, the existing heterogeneity in integral destination. The research is performed by an exploratory-descriptive qualitative methodology using secondary data. The results indicate that the categorization of the tourism micro-destinations in Gran Canaria has followed the criteria indicated in the literature to their delimitation. Also, it indicated that the adoption of these management units are justified by demand data and by the tourism offer in these places, allowing better control, planning and co-marketing. Thus, the territorial division based on micro-destinations reveals to be an appropriate option for regional management.