Redes de destinos en la Ruta Arte, Queso y Vino de Querétaro (México): propias vs propuestas

This study aimed to analyze the actual itineraries of visitors to the Arte, Cheese, and Wine Route of Querétaro (RAQV, Mexico) as a directed network and to contrast them with the itineraries promoted by agencies and authorities, identifying central nodes and the role of accessibility/distance in shaping flows. It focused on how tourists constructed their real itineraries along the RAQV, and compared them with the routes promoted by authorities and service providers. A total of 213 were conducted in RAQV vineyards to reconstruct directed routes, where the nodes were destinations (vineyards and attractions) and the ties were the displacements between them. Centrality indicators were estimated, and geospatial matrices (inter-site distances, road accessibility, proximity to terminals, and availability of tours) were developed to interpret the network topology. On average, visitors made two displacements per trip and did not follow fixed linear routes; Freixenet, Peña de Bernal, and Tequisquiapan acted as gateway nodes, concentrating flows. Road accessibility and distance had greater influence than the connection with other sites; the visitor profile corresponded to middle- to upper-income households with private transport, highlighting barriers in public transportation. The comparison with agency itineraries revealed mismatches between the programmed offer and actual trajectories. These findings suggest that the RAQV should be conceived as a destination-network rather than as a sequential route, emphasizing the role of spatial mechanisms (accessibility/distance) in shaping flows. Policy implications were discussed, aimed at diversifying and democratizing access (e.g., improvements in inter-site public transportation), and the temporal limitation of the 2018 survey was acknowledged. Replication of the study was proposed to assess the stability of the network structure over time and its sensitivity to mobility interventions.