Cultural and natural attractions vs tourism development along the Spanish-Portuguese raya in extremadura

The Spanish-Portuguese border in Extremadura is known as La Raya. It stretches 422 km along a territory characterised by a large number of specificities in terms of biodiversity and the way in which humans have interacted with the environment. Consequently, La Raya area has a rich and valuable historical, artistic and intangible heritage, which is the result of a historical process that has involved frequent armed conflicts. La Raya has also been shaped by the friendly people living on both sides of the border. Moreover, due to its nature as a peripheral and border region where there is a low demographic density, the whole territory is marked by numerous natural areas that create unique spaces of singular beauty. These attractions determine the presence of a high potential to develop tourism. However, when establishing a relationship between the location of the accommodation offer, attractions and occupancy rates, a clear inadequacy of these aspects is observed.