Tourism Potential Analysis Of The Castles Of Vinalopo, Spain: An Opportunity For Social And Tourist Development Of Cultural Heritage

Within the overall framework of the renewal process of coastal tourist destinations, cultural heritage has frequently been used as a key argument for the introduction and development of strategies for the diversification and differentiation of the traditional tourist product based on sun and sand. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:WIT Transactions on the Built Environment 2016-01, Vol.158, p.147
Main Author: Canovas, E Rico
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Castles
Coastal environments
Coastal processes
Cultural heritage
Cultural resources
Economics
Fortresses
Landscape
Municipalities
Proposals
Rivers
Sand
Tourism
Towns
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Summary:Within the overall framework of the renewal process of coastal tourist destinations, cultural heritage has frequently been used as a key argument for the introduction and development of strategies for the diversification and differentiation of the traditional tourist product based on sun and sand. This is the situation of the province of Alicante, identified with the Costa Blanca geotourism brand, where there are important economic issues that could contribute to the renewal of this coastal tourist destination. One of the most significant heritage values of this space consists of a series of medieval fortresses located along the axis of the Vinalopo River, which has acted since prehistoric times as a natural route from within the provincial mainland to the coast. It is precisely the argument of this historical, territorial and landscape content that has been used repeatedly in recent years to develop initiatives aimed at the creation of a tourist product, currently inexistent, based on the route of the castles of Vinalopo. This communication aims to analyse the degree of tourism potential of the fortresses located in the towns of Biar, Banyeres de Mariola, Sax, Villena, Novelda, Elda, Petrer and Elche, which constitute the core of municipalities where these medieval fortresses are located, finally pointing out some proposals for the creation of a heritage tourism product.
ISSN:1746-4498
1743-3509
DOI:10.2495/DSHF160141