Can marketing help us to tackle the problem of depopulation?

 

Depopulation is a highly topical and difficult-to-solve problem that has gained great social and political interest in the last five years. Understanding its causes and consequences is a necessary task in order to be able to propose possible solutions.

In this post we will talk about the emptying of Spain, depopulation and how marketing can help us to put an end to this important problem for rural dwellers. Most of the inhabitants of the less developed regions give up their life in rural areas to move to the city, with the aim of having a better economy but not a better quality of life. This leads to the depopulation of certain areas, causing them to disappear in a short period of time.

This is due to the fact that the population is concentrated in large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, some cities on the Mediterranean coast, islands, the Basque Country and Andalusia. In contrast, many places in the interior of the peninsula are suffering from depopulation; 42% of rural municipalities in our country are at high risk of depopulation. This could explain the difficulties faced by these rural municipalities in attracting and retaining population in their regions. Moreover, our natural environment is much drier and has a very different altitude.

Considering that in Spain we have two large, densely populated cities and a large number of smaller towns, some of which manage to make you feel as if you live in a village, this causes an increase in rural depopulation and villages join the risk of disappearance. With 78% of the population living in urban areas or in functional urban areas, basic services such as clinics, bank branches and pharmacies are becoming less available in more depopulated areas, leaving rural dwellers with a greater sense of isolation.

On the other hand, the Franco era is blamed for depopulation as it is related to the industrialisation process between the 1950s and 1960s, as it occurred in a shorter period of time compared to other European countries, which led to a massive and progressive transfer from rural areas to urban areas.  We can also take into account that since the beginning of our economy we have been based on gold and silver and although there were cities such as Palencia, Burgos or Soria that were powerful in other types of economies, they were left aside and the productive model changed.

Image 1: Vinuesa, One of the most depopulated villages in Spain, located in the province of Soria.

Generating new opportunities in such places will prevent depopulation and the flight of existing inhabitants. The techniques applied by rural marketing will do everything possible to ensure the continuity of villages.

One of the measures proposed to put an end to this phenomenon is the investment in information technology, communication and digitalisation for rural regions at risk of depopulation. Through technology they propose that public access to databases, health care, social welfare services, education could be facilitated.

But we have to take into account that these territories are becoming uninhabited at the same time as they are ageing, so this measure faces the digital divide. Therefore, a process of digital literacy should be carried out in the older generations, but this would not be easy without a good internet connection, as there is a lack of good internet service in these places.  But after several studies we can only deduce that greater internet connectivity would only favour the people who already live there, people who spend their free time on weekends or tourism, but this would not help repopulation, because if the village does not have its own resources that can be exploited and developed, it is much more complicated.

The rural environment offers more careful and personalised services. It can be highlighted that in rural areas we find advantages in health centres and schools, as they offer more individualised and closer attention than in urban areas. But two aspects should be promoted; housing and communication in terms of transport. Houses for rent must be in good condition. What we need to change is the way people think about villages and the rural environment, to see opportunities in them, be it for their landscapes, their way of life, education or job offers.

Investment by major consumer brands in rural areas could help to further prevent depopulation, bring more life to towns, create an emotional bond with their employees.

Based on previous evidence, fighting depopulation is complicated, but achieving repopulation is much more difficult, so we must focus on maintaining the population we already have in rural areas, so that they can continue to survive with the trades they currently have.

Rural tourism is a minority type of tourism today, but with significant growth prospects in the coming years.  To this end, tourism marketing actions could be applied. The fact that rural tourism is, to a large extent, inland tourism far from the coast, means that it can be enjoyed at any time of the year.

The development in a privileged natural environment and its condition of non-mass tourism are some of the advantages that rural tourism presents, therefore these differential characteristics must be taken advantage of to obtain an obvious and distinctive positioning in the tourist's mind. The low prices of rural tourism services should also be highlighted, so this will be an attraction for segments with less purchasing power, but people who enjoy being in contact with nature would be willing to pay the prices indicated.  It is necessary to establish a range of prices that varies according to the different activities and services offered and the segments targeted.

Distribution in rural tourism has been one of the main weaknesses. Its condition of minority tourism prevents its distribution through conventional circuits and although it is necessary to go deeper into the most appropriate forms of distribution, very important steps have been taken, such as the use of intermediaries: travel agencies, presentations at tourism fairs or the development of booking centres applying new technologies.

In terms of communication, the publication of rural tourism guides has been achieved, which cover a large part of the existing offer and whose distribution, mainly through bookshops, means that the public has increasingly easier access to knowledge of rural tourism offers.

 

Image 2 and 3: Campaigns to promote the rural environment

To sum up, rural depopulation affects us all and is a serious problem not only in Spain, but also in other parts of the world. Not only does it generate a demographic imbalance, it also directly affects many other aspects. On the environmental side, the fact that most of the population is concentrated in the big cities turns rural areas into CO2 drains. On the economic side, depopulation leads to the disappearance of businesses and, with it, the waste of rural areas which are a perfect environment to transform and generate high quality products in a more responsible way for the planet and healthier for consumers, since rural Spain is what feeds the world, among other countries.

Taking into account the tranquillity that the rural environment transmits, it can be said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the sale of houses in rural areas has increased.

REFERENCES

·         Lucia Mediano Serrano (01/2022) Análisis del concepto de turismo rural e implicaciones de marketing

Recovery of https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28120928_Analisis_del_concepto_de_turismo_rural_e_implicaciones_de_marketing

 

·         Carmelo Beltrán (19/11/2020) Marketing aplicado al mundo rural con Sofía Parra

Recovery of https://www.copymelo.com/entrevista-sofia-parra/

·         El correo de Burgos (27/04/2020) Las claves del marketing digital para el sector turístico rural

Recovery of https://elcorreodeburgos.elmundo.es/articulo/provincia/marketing-digital/20200427141249361288.html

·         Marketing rural (30/09/2019) ¿Qué es el marketing rural?

Recovery of https://marketingrural.org/que-es-el-marketing-rural/

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