Tourism Development in SitgesLocation of Sitges The holiday destination of Sitges is a Mediterranean coastal town located about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, Catalonia and it is situated in between the Garraf Massif and the sea. Surrounded by the Garraf mountains and due to its geographical position in the Mediterranean.   Discovery StageSitges was at its ‘discovery’ stage at the end of the 19th century. At this time, the town appealed many artists and intellectuals. In 1891, a Catalan artist, Santiago Rusinol, arrived in Sitges. He brought creative ideas with him to complement those of a group of impressionists known as the Luminista who already lived in Sitges. Their Modernist art, including that of painters such as Joaquim Miró, was a major force behind the discovery of Sitges. The arrival of the railway in Sitges therefore enabled the town to develop as a cultural centre, and was a great place for the people of Barcelona to visit.Involvement, Growth & Development StagesPeople were able to visit this destination due to the increase of:• The increased amount of time people has for leisure and recreation• An increase in disposable income of the necessities of life have been paid for• The increase in people’s ability to travel to different locations• Longer paid holidays • Shorter working hours• Transport improvements Consolidation (Success) Stage The success that this development brought led the Sitges’ economy to grow. This growth was also helped by the number of people who migrated to Sitges, and people who bought second homes in the town. These included wealthy people within Spain as well as foreigners from all over Europe and further afield. Of the migrants who live there today, 63% are of European origin and 30% are from Latin America. The increase in population has led to an increase in retail services. There are over 150 clothes shops and 175 restaurants in Sitges, many of which are high status and serve not only the tourists but also the resident population. Sitges is considered to have four times more of these facilities than would be expected for a town of its size. The success stage of tourism in Sitges Geoative online PDF:? Explain the positive impact of budget airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet:The town’s closeness to Barcelona Airport and the rise in low-cost airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair have allowed Sitges to benefit from the growth in short-term breaks. Sitges is seen by many as an ideal alternative to staying in Barcelona, because of its beach and leisure facilities that they offer their tourists while allowing the tourist to visit the city of Barcelona, which is only a 40-minute train journey away.? Technological advancements in travel and tourism: One technological advancement that has led to a positive impact on the travel and tourism industry would be flights. The use of flights has reduced the travelling time for tourists; this means that tourists could get to their chosen destination in less time compared to any other transport. Another technological advancement that had a positive impact on the travel and tourism industry will be online booking to purchase travel tickets, this is a great benefit for tourists as they could now book their travel tickets online rather than going to the destination and booking it, which makes it hassle-free, it’s better to book it before hand and be organised. The use of flights is also another source of technology this has had a positive impact on the travel and tourism industry. This takes tourists to their destination in less time? The Multiplier effect to the economy of SpainIt will bring new money into the economy. Tourist money is reimbursed to the local economy as it is spent repeatedly. This will attract additional businesses and services to support the tourist industry. The multiplier effect to the tourists Is that it will be labour-intensive and earn valuable foreign exchange.Stagnation StageThe spread of tourism across the Mediterranean and beyond means that there are many options available to tourists. In the stagnation stage, Sitges have experienced numerous problems; however, the major problem is the impact of rise in competition and tourist saturation. Sitges is known as ‘mature’ destination which addresses this problem with its local agenda 21 policies. Its sustainable tourism competing with other destinations which were becoming more popular such as Barcelona, Cambrills and Salou. Barcelona is a popular city mainly visited for shopping and attraction purposes, whereas Sitges is a small, gay-friendly town that does not have many shops/attractions around. Cambrills is a resort that has great cafes and restaurants, and has many hotels near beaches; but Sitges does not have any hotels nearby beaches, you will have to travel far to find one. Salou is an all-rounder; the compact resort town is a family favourite it has many different theme parks to enjoy from compared to Sitges. A bit for everyone. Sitges had to compete in a much bigger market. For smaller settlements such as Sitges, the opening of new destinations saw a fall in inclusive-tour holidaymakers. When companies such as Thomson stopped marketing the town, there was a surplus of beds available and a need to re-market Sitges to attract new, more independent tourists.The impact of countries joining the European Union If the countries join the European Union more people are willing to travel to the countries as its free movement of labour which leads to an increase in tourism and this leads to the overall GDP increasing and may lead Sitges to become as one of the developing countries.Decline or Rejuvenation?Sitges has attracted as much tourists as possible using their culture, beach and the sun as a competitive advantage compared to other holiday destinations, as this is what most of the tourists are looking out for when going on holiday. It has several sand beaches and the good water quality appeals many beach lovers. Many of the winding alleys of the old town are lined with bars, cafes and restaurants this is mostly loved by the elderly people.Comparison to other destinations Another Spanish destination that has experienced the positive change in Tourism includes Benidorm. Benidorm has constantly attracted many tourists it all started like this:Some of the social, economic and environmental problems of tourism in Benidorm leading to its decline.  However, Benidorm has faced decline due to a lot of the negative impacts that has affected the local environment such as hardly any of the beach is natural and is constantly having to be replenished due to erosion mainly due to humans. There is also too much rubbish to deal with and roads are congestion due to too many cars and a shortage of little buses. Local people who aren’t that wealthy may also struggle to find houses as house prices have increased due to the high demand for second homes, people are also reliant on tourism and there is a loss of independence. Over the last few years Benidorm has been trying to shake of the “lager lout” reputation it became to develop mainly due to amount of British tourist go there just to party and become disorderly. Tourism officials decided that they did not want that label and wanted to make it more family friendly and are determined to shake the bad reputation they have developed due to the amount of drunken people. There are plans to build more 4-5-star hotels to regain the tourist they had started to lose due to their bad reputation.The impact of the refugee crisis on the island of Kos in GreeceMore than 2,000 people took part in the protests, demanding the Greek government to reconsider its decision to build the centre on the island among fears it will affect the community’s vital tourism industry, this is an example of other European destinations to face other problems which leads to the decline of tourism. Solutions to improve tourism in Spain Some solutions to improve tourism in Spain include:• Bureaucracy: When moving to Spain, there are a lot of documents to complete and you should expect to spend several days registering with a variety of offices. This can be a time-consuming process, so an easier alternative will increase the tourism.• Language Barrier: Few people in Spain speak fluent English, it’s important to know the language during your move as this may cause difficulties during the relocation process. This could be solved by having English speaking tourist guides around the airport for tourist’s journey to be hassle-free. Another solution is to use google translator app to help you out with interacting with Spanish residents.• Tourism in August: August in Spain is particularly busy, and the coastal areas can get crowded with tourists. If there is a shortage of rental opportunities, tourists will have nothing to do which will make the tourists get bored, so ensure there are enough rental opportunities for tourists to enjoy.References• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=23&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiBjIu32djYAhUMWCwKHSuCYkQFgilATAW&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwikitravel.org%2Fen%2FSitges&usg=AOvVaw1rjrO5-hw8WotnsZGgVaMc• https://geographyfieldwork.com/ButlerModelSitgesCalafell.htm• http://pmt.physicsandmathstutor.com/download/Geography/A-level/Notes/AQA/Changing-Places/Tourism%20Model.pdf• http://sitgesfilmfestival.com/eng• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kos-the-new-greek-island-at-the-centre-of-the-refugee-crisis-a6875176.html • http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3107183/Searches-Kos-holidays-plunge-52-migrant-crisis-grips-Greek-holiday-island.html• http://geographyfieldwork.com/ButlerModelSitgesCalafell.htm• Geography GCSE: Global Tourism; Andy Day (2012) • GeoActive Online The butler model of tourism: applied to Sitges, Spain by Paul Sheppard (2010)• https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/27662/6/benidorm_evolution.pdf