Socio-demographic impacts of residential tourism: a case study of Torrevieja, Spain

This article examines the impact of second-home developments on the socio-demographic structure of the population of Torrevieja, a Spanish coastal resort on the Costa Blanca. The migration of people to Torrevieja from other provinces and countries has affected the traditional structure of the local population, which has experienced a process of ageing concentrated specifically in those sectors with residential tourism. Differences between the socio-demographic characteristics of local people and migrants appear to be significant. A phenomenon of depopulation of the town centre and the dispersal of the population to the peripheral urban sectors is also noted.