DYNAMICS OF TOURIST URBANIZATION ON THE COAST OF BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

In Argentina, according to the National Tourism Forum (2017), tourism contributed 5.6 million foreign tourists and 43.4 million domestic tourism trips to the national economy during 2016, generating more than 1 million jobs. The intense growth of tourist activity has had a large number of consequences, one of the most significant is the development of urban areas associated with the affluence of visitor flows (Gladstone, 1998). In this context, it is interesting to discuss the role and scope of tourism in the coastal urbanization processes in Argentina and, by extension, in Latin America. Thus, this study analyzes the urban evolution of the coastal municipalities of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, from the perspective of considering tourism as a catalyst for urban growth, but also taking into account endogenous characteristics and the identity of the local communities where the activity is developed.