The Pyrenees region
The Pyrenees is a mountain range over 400 km long and about 100 km wide. The mountain
ridge with its high peaks divides the region into north and south with relatively few
crossing points from one side to the other. At the two extremes the mountains reach the
sea and are not as high as in the central area. No large cities are present, with San Sebastian,
Pamplona, Perpignan, Girona and Pau being the most populated urban centres, all of
them located in the periphery of the region close to the lower neighbouring flatlands.
It is important to remark that for tourism planning, management and promotional
purposes, the Pyrenees region is divided into 13 different regions from 3 countries,
which fully coincide with existing administrative divisions of the territory (see
Figure 1). Regarding the attractions in the territory, they are relatively homogeneous
throughout the whole mountain range and very characteristic of inhabited mountain or
rural regions in general (Debarbieux, 1995; Godde et al., 2000), that is, there is a majority
of nature-based and active tourism attractions, as well as cultural attractions, and a
more limited number of other categories. Due to proximity to the sea on both sides of
the mountain range, there are also a few ‘sun and beach’ centres and several secondhome
intensive areas.
The Pyrenees mountain range is a good example for the purpose of this study, as it
exhibits the unique characteristics of mountain regions (Godde et al., 2000), which
favours the hub-and-spoke consumption patterns. In addition, tourism destination boundaries
in the region are drawn following administrative boundaries on the basis of natural
features such as mountain ridges or rivers. We contend that an attraction-based approach
to tourism destination boundaries can generate alternative tourism zones that better match
tourists’ most common destination consumption patterns.
The Pyrenees region
The Pyrenees is a mountain range over 400 km long and about 100 km wide. The mountain
ridge with its high peaks divides the region into north and south with relatively few
crossing points from one side to the other. At the two extremes the mountains reach the
sea and are not as high as in the central area. No large cities are present, with San Sebastian,
Pamplona, Perpignan, Girona and Pau being the most populated urban centres, all of
them located in the periphery of the region close to the lower neighbouring flatlands.
It is important to remark that for tourism planning, management and promotional
purposes, the Pyrenees region is divided into 13 different regions from 3 countries,
which fully coincide with existing administrative divisions of the territory (see
Figure 1). Regarding the attractions in the territory, they are relatively homogeneous
throughout the whole mountain range and very characteristic of inhabited mountain or
rural regions in general (Debarbieux, 1995; Godde et al., 2000), that is, there is a majority
of nature-based and active tourism attractions, as well as cultural attractions, and a
more limited number of other categories. Due to proximity to the sea on both sides of
the mountain range, there are also a few ‘sun and beach’ centres and several secondhome
intensive areas.
The Pyrenees mountain range is a good example for the purpose of this study, as it
exhibits the unique characteristics of mountain regions (Godde et al., 2000), which
favours the hub-and-spoke consumption patterns. In addition, tourism destination boundaries
in the region are drawn following administrative boundaries on the basis of natural
features such as mountain ridges or rivers. We contend that an attraction-based approach
to tourism destination boundaries can generate alternative tourism zones that better match
tourists’ most common destination consumption patterns.
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