SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AS A NEGATIVE EXTERNALITY OF PUBLIC POLICIES IN THE RURAL ENVIRONMENT

The social changes that took place in Spain since the fifties had an special impact in a rural enviroment that was subject to a gradual abandoning. This article tries to show how the rural development policies that were carried out since the incorporation of Spain in the European Union had as their first objective the implementation of a new agrarian production system, and they finished originating a new way of tourism known as "sustainable" in Spain. Firstly it was understood as a tool to develop rural areas, but this model of turism has some peculiarities that make it not just a way to guarantee the development of run-down areas, but an aim in and of itself that consumes a big amount of resources and that can cause negative effects where it developes.