Looking for paradise: images of the Spanish lifestyle

Abstract

Residential tourism development seems to be an unstoppable phenomenon in the Costa Blanca region (Alicante, Spain). The number of second homes owned by overseas citizens is steadily increasing, and the projections show that this trend will continue in the next few years. Our goal is to find out what European citizens’ main reasons for choosing this region are. Tourists usually speak about the ‘Spanish lifestyle’ as the area’s main appeal, but what do they mean by that? We will see how ‘siesta’, relax, sun, sand and sea are the key elements of this successful destination. We have chosen a qualitative approach to probe into the motivations of these tourists-residents. The results will be discussing are included in the research ‘Overseas residential tourism in Alicante’, about their needs and problems.