ABSTRACT
In 2019, stakeholders of the capital of the Costa del Sol opened a broad debate on the sustainability of the destination. The saturation of the natural environment, gentrification, and even tourismphobia became the main challenges. However, the pandemic has completely paralyzed the tourist activity causing the need for a new beginning. The closing of borders has meant that residents are also the only visitors to their territory, allowing them to rediscover their ecosystem. This chapter aims to analyze the role of residents in protecting their destination. We conducted 476 questionnaires with residents from February to June 2021. A quantitative and qualitative thematic analysis was carried out using the NVivo Pro software and SPSS. The findings underscore the residents’ lack of knowledge of the environment. They positively value the recovery of the ecosystem after the confinement and, although they do not know how they can contribute to a sustainable coexistence, they ask for more political support. They state that ecosystem protection goes hand in hand with tourism so that what is important to tourists is protected. In short, the ecosystem is protected due to its economic value and not for its impact on the well-being or conservation of the world.
