The landscape as a tourist resource and its impact in mountain areas in the south of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)

Interiors and middle mountain areas have experienced a growth of rural tourism since the end of the 20th Century. This increase is explained, among other things, by the commitment of entrepreneurs and local development groups, as well as changes in the preferences of travelers: they behave in a more segmented way, with greater environmental awareness and enhancing rural spaces. In the rural environment, the landscape has become a not marketed tourist commodity. Communication is inserted within a line of research that analyzes the location of rural tourism lodgings and the tourist experience in the temporal spatial consumption process of the landscape. Its growing use in tourism has led to propose a methodology based on the analysis of preferences and ratings that tourists make. The work is focused on the mountains of the Southeast of Castilla-La Mancha, where a survey that seeks to understand tourists ´ behavior and perception in rural destinations has been made. Results place the landscape as the main resource in the tourist experience