O posicionamento territorial a partir dos Itinerarios Culturais: o caso de Arzúa nos camiños de Santiago

In recent decades, the importance of strategies based on the endogenous resources for the development  of rural areas has grown, particularly those related to tourism. Thus, the enhancement of  Cultural Routes is considered an important tool for the territorial positioning and the promotion of  new business opportunities in rural areas. The best known European Cultural Routes which Galicia participates is the Saint James Way, which represents an instrument desired by many Galician territories that suffer from population decline and rural competitiveness problems, even though a large part of the inland municipalities which the Way passes through continue to undergo a deep economic and demographic crisis. A case study focused on the municipality of Arzua will show us how the true integration of identity elements and local resources in the tourism development strategy linked to the Way is essential to generate economic impacts of this resource on the territory.