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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.

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]

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]

Policy makers and tourism developers must understand visitors' mobility behavior and how they consume space and tourism resources in order to set up sustainable cultural tourism destinations. With this in mind, it should also be pointed out that the mobility patterns of tourists in urban destinations are mainly located in the city center (spatial centrality), the analysis of which enables us to define "how central" the resources (museums, monuments, etc.) are and what the interactions between them are. Comprehending which factors influence visitors' urban mobility behavior is key to understanding tourists' consumption of space and their connections with the tourism assets of the city. Furthermore, when tourists visit a destination, they make a mental representation of the destination, constructing a mental map of it. Thus, tourists consume not only spaces but also the image of a city/destination. Moreover, the latter influences the former. The quality of surrounding architecture and urbanism plays a crucial role in enhancing the experiential value of a destination and influencing space consumption preferences. Clearly, visitors are more likely to use/consume environments that are easily navigated and mentally legible. In order to explore these patterns, a real experiment was performed based on visitor behavior in the city of Bilbao. In addition, the central places of Bilbao were determined and an analysis of the spatial interaction between cultural sites was performed, making use of a new methodology based on GPS technologies, network analysis, and surveys. This methodology is the main contribution of this work. The results suggest that (1) easy mobility (walkability, accessibility, different transport modes) of the visited space facilitates the tourist experience; (2) simple and eligible mental maps of the city that are easily perceived by visitors facilitate the rapid consumption of the tourist destination; and (3) the centrality of the tourism resources affects the mobility of visitors and the consumption of the destination. Thus, by understanding how tourist mobility works in a destination and analyzing tourism resources' centrality, policy makers may better tailor sustainable strategies for cultural tourism destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Spanish housing boom has finally come to an end by the second half of 2007 and the change in the property cycle is under way. The future of the Spanish housing market is very difficult to forecast because uncertainties are great in the national and international markets. Despite so many predictions of a crash of the Spanish real estate market, the evidence available suggests a gradual adjustment of demand and supply. The aim of this paper is threefold: (1) to analyse the workings of the housing market in Spain and identify the determinants of the housing boom in the last decade; (2) to analyse the prospects of the housing sector; and (3) to discuss the likely effects on the economy as a whole of the current downturn in the housing market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology parks have been widely embraced as a mechanism for creating local high-technology com plexes in the context of regional development policy. Such policies are constructed on the basis that the creation of an appropriate infrastructure can induce cumulative development of technologically-related activities. In theory it is expected that the growth process will be characterized by a high degree of innovation, the application of locally-generated knowledge, flexible forms of organization and inter dependence between enterprises. Previous research has shown that there is considerable variability in the forms of development which occur on technology parks, and a debate has developed concerning the potential for the decentralization of high technology industry to peripheral locations. While many tech nology parks may not attain the ideal in terms of technological synergies, they can nonetheless produce significant regional development outcomes. This is demonstrated through a case study of the Andalucia Technology Park situated on the outskirts of the City of Milaga in the south of Spain. In this case, the high technology label has plainly acted as a magnet for public sector funding, which has been used to create the kind of modern customized infra structure demanded by inward investors. The initial 'cost-per-job' has undoubtedly been high, but the availability of financial support from the public sector suggests that expansions of existing projects and further inward investment are likely to occur. This interpretation of technology parks has important implications for our understanding of regional policy in the 1990s. Many technology parks, in reality, are used to produce what can be regarded as less ambitious but significant regional policy outcomes (i.e. job-creation through relocation and inward investment) and are perhaps more appropriately judged in those terms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]