Cartography and tourism promotion in internal border areas: the case of Els Ports (Catalonia, Aragon and the Valencian Community)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to seek the incidence of differentiated legal order in the public policy of tourism from analysis focused on the “border” space between the Spanish Autonomous Communities of Catalonia, Aragon and the Valencian Community. Our study area suffers from a lack of economic activities and the tourism sector is especially relevant for its development. The absence of effective interautonomous cooperation tools, as well as a very poor culture of cooperation, does not allow the conception of a whole common policy. However, there are initiatives that mark a turning point. The recently created Tres Territoris project tries to unite efforts in favour of the creation of a supra-regional space that maximizes the tourist offer of the Els Ports massif. It does so through a common map, as a first step for collaboration in boosting the tourist offer in the whole of the territory.