Climate change and tourism in cities in the interior of Spain: impacts on the climatic-tourist aptitude models of Leon, Granada, and Madrid

Urban and interior tourism are economic activities that are highly dependent on climate. Spain will be seriously affected by climate change. Therefore, understanding the impact of climate change on tourism in cities is crucial because of its socioeconomic value. This study aims to analyse and describe current and tourist-climate aptitude models in three cities that are representative of urban tourism in Spain: Leon, Granada, and Madrid. In the analysis of climate-tourism potential, we tackle a crucial issue for planning inland tourism in Spain: forecasting the degree of impact of climate change on tourism. For this analysis, an inland climate-tourism index (ICTI) (Millán, 2017) is implemented and two scenarios are proposed for the medium and long term: 2030 and 2040. The results indicate that climate change will mean important changes in the climate-tourism models of cities in the interior of Spain. These modifications will affect the temporary distribution of comfort aptitudes, and present new challenges and opportunities for tourism in these cities.