Gúdar-Javalambre already holds both Starlight Reserve and Starlight Destination certifications, reflecting years of work protecting its night skies while developing astronomy-linked tourism. Using the Living Lab methodology promoted by MedSkyTour, the newly established Place Lab brings local authorities, tourism providers, astronomy experts and scientific institutions together to jointly design, test and validate new astrotourism services, rather than leaving product development to individual businesses acting alone. Early co-creation sessions identified specific visitor segments worth targeting, including astrophotographers, amateur astronomers and families seeking nature-based experiences, and stakeholders agreed that pairing night-sky activities with existing hiking, cycling, gastronomy and heritage offerings could extend visitor stays and directly address the region's seasonality problem.

Reducing light pollution also emerged as a shared priority, building on measures municipalities across the comarca have already taken, such as adjusting outdoor lighting colour temperature, intensity and directionality to limit skyglow. Planned next steps include validating new service ideas, running follow-up workshops, developing pilot projects, and mapping a regional astrotourism itinerary connecting the area's astronomical, natural and cultural assets, with the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory, Fundación Starlight and the Aragón regional tourism network expected to support the effort going forward.

#Ecotourism #InnovationInTourism #RuralTourism