Member

Jordi Calabuig Serra holds a PhD in Geography from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and in Tourism from the Universitat de Girona. His research focuses on the social sustainability of tourism and examines LGBT+ territorialities through the analysis of interactions between LGBT+ residents and tourists in Barcelona.

He is currently a lecturer and researcher (ATER in Geography) at ESTHUA, the National Institute of Tourism INNTO France, Université d’Angers.

The co-production of a city. Sociability and spatiality of LGBT+ residents and tourists in Barcelona

PhD thesis in Geography (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) and Tourism (Universitat de Girona), prepared in cotutelle under the supervision of Nadine Cattan and Lluís Prats Planagumà, defended on July 2, 2025.

Abstract:

At the intersection of tourism studies and the geographies of sexualities, this thesis examines the practices and spaces of LGBT+ residents and tourists in Barcelona. It begins from the observation that the social dimension of tourism sustainability has often been neglected compared to its environmental and economic aspects. To move beyond the conventional dichotomy of tourist/consumer and resident/service provider, the study adopts a relational perspective to understand interactions among LGBT+ individuals in the city. Three methods were employed: semi-structured interviews with 49 LGBT+ residents, including the production of individual mental maps; a survey of LGBT+ tourists; and participant observation.

This thesis shows that the representation of the LGBT+ tourist city largely overlaps with commercial spaces but also reveals practices and places extending beyond the Gaixample leisure district and consumption. LGBT+ identity, and the diverse ways in which it is lived, intertwines with personal trajectories –residential and tourist mobility, perceptions of safety, and degrees of community identification– producing a more open and complex, less predictable cartography. Connections between people and spaces appear less rigid than suggested by dominant discourse, while micro-geographies –neighbourhoods, cultural venues, public spaces, and private homes– play a significant role.

By highlighting social relations, practices, and spaces within a city that holds a prominent place in the LGBT+ scene, this thesis revisits territorialities as social constructions, rethinks LGBT+ tourism through the lens of actors rather than supply, and critically examines the notion of the LGBT+ tourist destination, often falling short of inclusivity and diversity.

Keywords : LGBT+ tourism / Geographies of sexualities / Host-guest relationship / Social sustainability / Relational perspective / Acceptability of tourism / Barcelona