Urban transformations and tourist impact of events. The Holy Week in Seville

Abstract

Introduction: Events can have a deep and long-term impact in urban transformations, due to the effects in the urban landscape and the reinforcement of urban services. In addition, tourist perceptions of urban destinations are significantly affected by their experience of events. Methodology: The objective is to analyse the impact of the Holy Week in Seville in terms of urban presence and visitor perceptions. A mixed methodology is applied involving questionnaires to visitors, spatial analysis of reinforced urban services, routes and movement of attendees, registration of related activities, and analysis of public policy documents. Results: There is a relatively low visit to heritage sites and tourist attractions during Holy Week, mainly because most tourists repeat the visit to the event. Attendees show a great satisfaction with all aspects related to the event in general, especially those who live in the city and who come from abroad. Discussion: The key aspects to improve are mobility and the visit to other resources apart from the event. Conclusions: The Holy Week is an important event in terms of the number of visitors, economic impact, and civic pride, and improving the quality of urban services is the key to ensuring tourists and residents satisfaction.