The impact of quad tourism: a preventive action for the Mediterranean

Abstract

The Mediterranean region attracts annually more than 400 million tourists. In recent decades, quad tourism has grown, favoured by poor regulations. Environmental impacts of ofroad vehicles have been widely studied in the USA, but not in the Mediterranean. This paper addresses that gap through a literature review on the impacts of motorized recreation, and an analysis of the current implementation of quad tourism in the region and of advertising topics. Main impacts were reported on soils, vegetation and wildlife. We have registered 337 quad agencies in 20 Mediterranean countries, with important concentrations in some regions. Half agencies promote their tours with images driving out of the trails, 22% crossing rivers, 9% driving on the beach, 7% on dunes and 23% sell the activity as an extreme adventure. It is necessary a stronger authorization framework, including the environmental impact assessment of these activities, more involvement of tour operators in environmental protection and greater education of the participants about the impacts of ofroad driving and the importance of their behaviour. Further research in the region is also convenient.