Patrimonio paleontológico y marca territorio: Cuenca y sus dinosaurios

Abstract

Dinosaurs are part of the palaeontological heritage of the Cuenca province. The social dimension and the attraction they exert on the public invite to think about if this palaeontological heritage is able to contribute to the creation of a brand of territory that would identify and differentiate a tourism destination. For this purpose, an approach to the concept of the territory’s brand and its strategic importance for the tourism marketing was made, verifying the media impact of Concavenator corcovatus, a species, for now exclusive of Cuenca, based on a unique specimen of the Las Hoyas fossil site. From that point, it is shown how the popular dimension of the dinosaurs is using the image of Concavenator to identify two relevant touristic elements: the Museum of Palaeontology of Castilla-La Mancha and the Route of the dinosaurs from Cuenca. Currently, the image that a geographical space transmits through its brand is decisive to position it as a potential tourist destination and a suitable and relevant territory brand, with a positive image. Therefore, being an intangible asset to provide competitive advantage and contributing to the sustainable development of an area. In Cuenca there are dinosaurs, a heritage element which, through its presence in the brand of the two relevant tourism products mentioned, can be a good vehicle to provide added value that favours uniqueness and promotes differentiation in an increasingly homogeneous environment