Consequences of Tourism and European Trade Policy in Galicia

Consequences of Tourism

Consequences of tourism and tourism attract demographic pressures. Workers from sectors such as sports activities and emigration are drawn to some areas where tourism develops. In these areas, the first consequence is excessive demographic concentration, which saturates services for resident populations.

Tourism also creates economic benefits: it creates jobs, increases income, and stimulates other economic sectors. However, tourism can generate precarious and seasonal employment, and much of the income may leave the area, benefiting companies from outside the region. Tourists also consume important local goods and services, which can harm local production methods and native businesses. Speculation in land and property can grow, and excessive economic dependence on this single sector creates imbalances across the territory and concentrates wealth in certain interests.

Social Impacts

Tourism social dynamics modify the local community. It can drive modernization, but it may also cause the loss of customs and local identity.

Environmental Impacts

Tourism affects environmental quality and living conditions in some areas. Rehabilitation of the landscape and buildings, together with tourist infrastructures, can produce atmospheric pollution, noise, and waste, and increase pressure on water and other resources. The goal is to enhance the positive effects of tourism and avoid the negative ones, promoting sustainable tourism that reconciles development with environmental and cultural values.

Transport and Trade Policies

Transport Policy

The European transport policy pursues several objectives: developing trans-European networks, connecting the most peripheral regions to the main infrastructures, promoting intermodal transport, and reducing the environmental impact of transport.

Common Commercial Policy

Europe's common commercial policy is based on a single market, in which trade policies are both internal and external and harmonized.

• Internal commercial policy: based on a customs union that eliminates customs duties between member states. Its advantages include the removal of border procedures and controls, greater competitiveness, and a reduction in costs.
• External commercial policy: includes a common external tariff on imports of third-country products, a system of preferences that eliminates tariffs and quotas for certain countries, and agreements with less developed countries, promoting freer trade.