Asturias, Cantabrian mountains, Tourism
The Principality of Asturias
The Principality of Asturias (Spanish: Principado de Asturias - Asturian: Principáu d'Asturies) is an autonomous community within the kingdom of Spain, former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. It is situated on the Spanish north coast facing the Cantabrian Sea (Mar Cantábrico, the Spanish name for the Bay of Biscay).
The most important cities are the provincial capital, Oviedo, the seaport and largest city Gijón, and the industrial town of Avilés. Other towns include Mieres, Langreo (with La Felguera and Sama), Pola de Siero, Luarca, Cangas de Onís, Cangas del Narcea, Grado, Lena, Laviana, El Entrego, Villaviciosa, Vegadeo, and Llanes. See also List of municipalities in Asturias, Comarcas of Asturias.
Asturias is bordered on the east by Cantabria, on the south by Castilla y León, on the west by Galicia (Lugo), and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.
Cantabrian Mountains
Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantábrica in Spanish) are a mountain range which extends for more than approximately 180 miles (300 km) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees (Basque mountains) to the borders of Galicia, and on or near the coast of the Cantabrian Sea. The Cantabrian Mountains offer a wide range of trails for hiking, as well as many challenging climbing routes. Skiing is possible in the ski resorts of Alto Campoo, Valgrande-Pajares and Manzaneda.
The Cantabrian Mountains stretch east-west, nearly parallel to the sea, as far as the pass of Leitariegos, also extending south between León and Galicia. The range's western boundary is marked by the valley of the river Miño (Portuguese: Minho), by the lower Sil, which flows into the Miño, and by the Cabrera River, a small tributary of the Sil.
Some geographers regard the mountains of Galicia beyond the Miño as an integral part of the same system; others confine the name to the eastern half of the highlands between Galicia and the Pyrenees, and call their western half the Asturian Mountains. There are also many local names for the subsidiary ranges within the chain, which includes the Picos de Europa.
As a whole, the Cantabrian Mountains are remarkable for their intricate ramifications, but almost everywhere, and especially in the east, it is possible to distinguish two principal ranges, from which the lesser ridges and mountain masses radiate. One range, or series of ranges, closely follows the outline of the coast; the other, which is loftier, forms the northern limit of the great tableland of Castile and León, and is sometimes regarded as a continuation of the Pyrenees. The coastal range rises in, some parts sheer above the sea, and everywhere has so abrupt a declivity that the streams which flow seaward are all short and swift.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited".[3] Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2008, there were over 922 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007. International tourism receipts grew to US$944 billion (euro 642 billion) in 2008, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 1.8%.
As a result of the Late-2000s recession, international travel demand suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008, with growth in international tourism arrivals worldwide falling to 2% during the boreal summer months, and this negative trend intensified as international tourist arrivals fell by 8% during the first four months of 2009. Thereafter this declining trend was exacerbated in some regions due to the outbreak of the influenza AH1N1 virus