The effect of construction intensity on landscape preferences in Cuban tourist resorts

Within the context of the increasing importance of tourism in large all-inclusive resorts in tourist destinations such as Cuba, this study analyses the preferences of potential tourists (university students) from Spain and Brazil based on the construction intensity in these resorts and the academic background of the participants. To this end, an online questionnaire with photographs of landscape units in Cayo Santa María (Province of Villa Clara, Cuba) was devised. The two-fold objective focused on assessing the valuation of the landscape's visual quality related to the presence and intensity of tourism-related constructions, as well as assessing the potential bias linked to the academic profile in said assessment. The results indicate that a majority of those interviewed preferred landscapes without constructions. Construction intensity was also an important variable, in that landscape preferences declined as construction intensity increased. At a secondary level, the academic background also had a significant influence on landscape preferences. Most Natural Science students preferred landscapes that were free of constructions, while those studying Health Sciences preferred the ones containing constructions. In conclusion, it is recommended that landscape preference studies be taken into account to optimize tourism planning in areas of enormous ecosystem and landscape value.