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Lynch's (1960) Theory of Imageability explores how individuals perceive and navigate urban environments, emphasizing the role of paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. This theory highlights the significance of these elements in shaping people's mental maps and enhancing their understanding and navigation of urban spaces. However, cultural tourism introduces complexities to Lynch's framework due to its unique motivations, interests, and behaviours. This article investigates the relationship between visitor mobility patterns and urban morphology in the context of two cultural destinations: Bilbao and San Sebastian. The study utilizes Network Analysis of visitors' GPS data to analyse the dynamics of visitor mobility within these urban environments. This data-driven approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of how cultural destinations operate within their physical territories. Results reveal that both San Sebastian and Bilbao exhibit a distinct "D-shaped" mobility pattern, characterized by a clear and uncomplicated flow of movement. This finding aligns with Lynch's theory (1960), emphasizing the importance of simplicity and legibility in shaping visitors' cognitive maps and mental representations of the urban space. The concentration of cultural landmarks in the Old Town and the challenges of congestion and overtourism are brought to light through the network analysis of GPS data. The accompanying figures visually illustrate how the ease of navigation in these cities significantly contributes to the formation of visitors' cognitive maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the intersection between Frank Gehry's iconic Hotel Marqués de Riscal (MdR) and the Marques de Riscal winery, investigating their causal relationship with the surge in wine tourism. Using Google Trends data and empirical research, it establishes the influential role of the MdR Hotel in driving positive impacts on the winery and the local economy. Findings highlight: (1) the hotel's symbolic signaling elevates the winery's reputation globally, (2) repositioning efforts lead to increased economic returns and profitability, and (3) the transformational MdR Hotel attracts visitors, generating new economic activity and job opportunities in the Rioja region. Insights into the transformative effects of the iconic MdR Hotel on the winery and the local economy are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superstar architecture can play a key role in the global positioning of museums in influential mass media, thereby successfully attracting cultural tourism (e.g. the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, GMB). Yet, an evident shortcoming is the mapping of media positioning. The aim of this article is precisely to draw and visualize this positioning of the GMB through networks. Two innovative features characterize this study: first, from a theoretical point of view, it links the debate on Superstar Museums to the broader economic debate on Superstar Economics. Akin to Rosen's hypothesis, in the case of Superstar Museums, the media exposure is concentrated among a handful of museums. In this context, the authors highlight the role of networks. The central nodes in the networks utilized for the study, depict/stand for museums that have the maximum visibility in the international media. The second innovative feature of the article is the analysis of co-citation networks in articles of the New York Times for two periods (1995–2000 and 2014–2019). The network graphs map the results of this article: the GMB positioned itself effectively with its inauguration in 1997. In addition, 20 years later the GMB still remains quite well positioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilbao has become a role model for the regeneration of declining urban and industrial regions. The debate on the so-called Bilbao effect showed that rundown industrial cities and regions might profit from culture-based development strategies, even if successful urban regeneration cannot be induced by only one flagship project without an appropriate local and regional context. Based on the comparative analysis of six, in general recently founded, museums in five countries (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; Louvre in Lens; Centre Pompidou in Metz; Istanbul Modern Art Museum; Museum Folkwang in Essen; Museum of Natural History in Florence), the authors of this special issue discuss the role of these museums in building the image and the attractiveness of their local and regional environment,  the cross-fertilization of ideas and  the integration of a region in global circuits and networks. Museums can play an important role in building up “social capital”, creating networks between different professionals, groups, sectors and segments of society, bridging diverse social backgrounds, lowering coordinating costs for individuals and businesses, and increasing the capacity of firms to reconnect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to show the levels of local and regional embeddedness of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (GMB) as well as its effects on the position of Bilbao within global networks. Although it is often said that the GMB as an international art franchise did not fit well with the local traditions, values and culture of Bilbao and the Basque Country, this paper attempts to show that the GMB is quite embedded into the local and regional context of institutions, private agents and policies. This effect increases with the growing recognition of the potential effects of the GMB on the creative and service industry in the Bilbao region. On the other hand, there is also an increasing tendency for Bilbao and the GMB to be included in global networks, as can be demonstrated by the branding effect of the GMB on the attraction of tourists or the increasing importance of the term “Bilbao” in semantic networks. The authors conclude with some recommendations on strengthening both the regional embeddedness and the global networking potential of museums in order to generate positive effects on urban regeneration and regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: GLobal Art MUseums as Economic Re-activators (GLAMUR) infrastructures are characterized by global media visibility and sheer presence in the communications environment; outstanding architecture by a superstar architect; big blockbuster exhibitions and a large number of visitors; being magnets for tourists; requiring large capital costs (initial construction costs plus ongoing investments) and large operating budgets; expensive advertising and commercialisation strategies; a huge operative risk; and a hope for substantial impact on the local economy. The economic value of cultural assets is defined as the extent to which they generate benefits for society. The aim of this article is to shed light on the valuation of GLAMUR infrastructures and why, and then to valuate the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (GMB). In fact, the author of this paper argues that economic valuation through an estimate of the Willingness to Pay (WTP) (e.g. contingent valuation), is clearly an insufficient method for valuating a GLAMUR. One possible accurate method could be to calculate the Discounting of Cash-flows (DCF), followed by the discounting of the WTP estimates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article analyzes the effects of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (GMB), adopting a new research perspective and trying to pursue the links between the museum and Bilbao's art scene. Until now, the impact of the museum has been analyzed from two different perspectives. The first focused on the urban development and regeneration aspects and the success of the museum as a tourist magnet and an image-making device. The second perspective concentrated on the direct economic benefits of the museum, i.e. direct returns and effects on the economy. The missing lens in previous analyses, however, was the impact of the museum on the city's art landscape, including the art support activities. In this context, the article describes for the first time in a detailed way how the GMB has contributed to the shaping and propulsion of changes on commercial and non-profit art spaces in Bilbao. Although it is clear that other factors may play a role, it can be asserted that the effects of the museum are not only limited to an increase in tourism or fiscal return, but also contribute to the development and spatial articulation of the local art scene and public support of the arts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to develop a new user-friendly in-house tracking methodology for academics to analyse the effectiveness of visits (return visit behaviour and length of sessions) depending on their traffic source: direct visits, referring site entries and search engine visits. In other words, how deep do visitors navigate into the web site? Which is their internal performance depending on their traffic source? Design/methodology/approach - This paper addresses these questions by time series analysis of Google Analytics data. Some statistical matters with regard to the use of Google Analytics data in combination with time series methodology are fine-tuned. Findings - Return visits are the main engine for nurturing session length, but which type of traffic source nurtures these return visits? In order to answer this question, an important distinction must be made between "total return visits" and "marginal return visits". Site entries stay longer to the extent their "marginal return effectiveness" is higher. For our particular web site direct visits are the most effective ones, followed by search engine visits and only thirdly link-entries. Research limitations/implications - This methodology is critical for an effective web site traffic source monitoring and benchmarking that may lead to better web site strategies. Originality/value - The importance of this paper is not the particular web site but the new methodology tested to arrive at these results, an experiment that could be repeated with different web sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to challenge Professors Gómez Uranga's and Etxebarria's argument that self-government on it's own propitiates better socio-economic results. The authors' article offers us a complete overview of all the regional-provincial planning instruments and the innovation system implemented in the Basque Country. However, the authors lack objectivity in their approach, failing to analyse the negative effects of ETA (ETA is a terrorist group that demands separation of the Basque Country from Spain), which is not even mentioned in the article. In fact, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is an outstanding test case for the effectiveness of a regionally promoted redevelopment instrument that is partially undermined by the violence of ETA. In this sense, the efficacy of self-government is subject to a dear consistent commitment to solve the problem of terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilbao is an outstanding test case for the impact of an internationally famous cultural facility in a context that otherwise does not lend itself to large flows of tourism. Although early for a complete impact study, the aim of this study is to quantify the influence of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in the attraction of tourism and to identify the potential factors that explain such impact in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- Online advertising such as Google AdWords gives small and medium-sized enterprises access to new markets at reduced costs. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the visibility and performance of a website and to test the effectiveness of online marketing using the data provided by Google Analytics. Design/methodology/approach -- The authors use a class of econometric time series models with unobservable components, Structural Time Series Models (STSM). The authors allow for time-varying trends to take into account the non-stationary behaviour displayed by time series. The authors illustrate the model using daily data from a local tourist website. Three specific questions are addressed: do paid keywords campaigns increase the volume and quality of search traffic? Do paid keywords affect the volume and quality of the unpaid traffic? How do paid and unpaid keywords perform? Findings -- The results for the case study show that: first, online campaigns affect traffic volume positively but their effectiveness on traffic quality is uncertain; second, paid keywords do not affect the volume and quality of unpaid traffic; third, the increase in traffic volume is not always due to the paid keywords and the lowest quality visits come from paid traffic. Practical implications -- This analysis may help webmasters to design successful online advertising strategies. Originality/value -- This study contributes to the development of user-friendly methodologies to monitor website performance. The analysis shows that STSM is a suitable methodology to test the effectiveness of online campaigns and to assess the changes over time in the performance of a website. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the city of Bilbao has undergone extensive urban regeneration. Large urban infrastructural schemes were undertaken that included cultural, transport and sewerage systems. These schemes improved run-down industrial areas, contributing to urban integration and an improved quality of life for citizens and helped drive economic recovery. This empirical study is based on the activities of Bilbao Ria 2000, a public body created by government to carry out the regeneration. It analyses the impact that investment in urban infrastructure has had on the economic activity of the metropolitan area and assesses its effect on those sectors linked to the most modern processes of economic change and innovation: knowledge-intensive business services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To evaluate and analyze health information systems (HIS) in the Mesoamerican Region. Material and methods. The conceptual framework and tools of the Health Metrics Network (NHM) was used. It measures six components of the HIS assessment: resources, indicators, data sources, information management, products and use. Results. In this study we found that the average score of the HIS in the Mesoamerican region was 57%, being the maximum value for Mexico (75%) and the minimum for El Salvador (41%). The item that had lowest scores was that referring to the Management and Administration, where the average assessment was 37%, placing it as present but not adequate. The component with the highest score was Information Products with more than 69%, adequate. In any case, no items were very adequate. Conclusion. The performance of HIS is heterogeneous between countries. It is necessary to strengthen and standardize the criteria of the HIS in the region, so that these are integrated and used in the decision making process based on real information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]