Effects of high-speed rail on tourist demand: an approach for the case of Galicia

Since the inauguration of the first High Speed Line in Spain, Madrid-Seville in 1992, the expansion of the high-speed network has changed the mobility habits of residents and tourists. Galicia has benefited from the arrival of high-speed rail late, but successive improvements in travel times from Madrid have begun to encourage the transfer from other means of transport mainly since 2012. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between improvements in travel times and the arrival of the high-speed railway in Galicia and a supposed increase in tourist demand. For this purpose, eight of the most important Galician tourist towns are considered, and a simple econometric model is applied in order to analyse, in a comparative way, the possible effects of the arrival of the high-speed railway in Galicia on its tourist demand. In the absence of the publication of recent data for the post-pandemic period, the results allow us to draw some initial conclusions that confirm the important role that the High-Speed Train can play in the future in relation to tourism in Galicia.