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

Daniel Barrera-Fernández; Marco Hernández-Escampa; Antonia Balbuena-Vázquez; Antonio Lluelma-Izquierdo

doi:10.31637/epsir-2025-444

Authors

Daniel Barrera-Fernández University of Seville https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2670-5370
Marco Hernández-Escampa University of Seville https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4741-410X
Antonia Balbuena-Vázquez University of Valladolid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2640-9635
Antonio Lluelma-Izquierdo University of Seville

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2025-444

Keywords:

urbanism, events, festivals, tourism, historic city, public policy, services, urban landscape

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.

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Author Biographies

Daniel Barrera-Fernández, University of Seville

Daniel Barrera-Fernández is an Architect and has a Master's Degree in Architecture and Historical Heritage from the University of Seville. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Malaga, his doctoral thesis got the Extraordinary Doctorate Award. He is a Professor at the University of Seville, previously he was a Professor at the Autonomous University of Oaxaca "Benito Juárez" and at the University of Guanajuato. His lines of research are the study, management and conservation of heritage, urban planning in historic cities, cultural and urban tourism and sustainable mobility. He is coordinator for Latin America of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS).

Marco Hernández-Escampa, University of Seville

Marco Hernández-Escampa is an Architect from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and he has a master’s degree in Architectural Sciences from the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos. He has two doctoral degrees, the first in Engineering and Applied Sciences from the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos, the second in Anthropology from the College of Morelos. He is a Professor at the University of Seville, previously he was a Professor at the Autonomous University of Oaxaca "Benito Juárez" and at the University of Guanajuato. His line of research is the study, management and conservation of heritage. He has carried out projects in coordination with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) on UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Antonia Balbuena-Vázquez, University of Valladolid

Antonia Balbuena-Vazquez, BA in Anthropology from the University of Granada, (Spain), Ph.D. in Tourism from the University of Malaga. Her main field of study is the resident attitude towards tourism. She has several international publications related to tourism and social impacts. She is a Professor at the University of Valladolid.

Antonio Lluelma-Izquierdo, University of Seville

Antonio Lluelma-Izquierdo has a Double Degree in Geography and Territory Management and History from the University of Seville. His final thesis was about the urban transformations in Seville due to the ecclesiastical confiscation of the 19^th Century. During his studies, he has made some research in different lines, but the most important ones were about religious issues and urban tourism in Seville. With one of these works, he took part in the 2^nd edition of Open House Seville architecture festival, presenting the visit called “Sevilla Desacralizada”.

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