<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Geotourism is becoming a well established form of tourism based on the geological environment. It offers a new form of sustainable tourism which is more holistic then previous niche forms of tourism. However, with more people than ever visiting natural areas worldwide, the cumulative impacts of visitors on geological sites is increasing. This paper surveys visitor impacts and site management at geological sites which are geotourism destinations. We describe geotourism which is the engine driving the core activities of conservation, education and sustainable development in geoparks. We then outline some lessons learned from management in dealing with visitor impacts at a heavily visited geopark in Taiwan, a volcano in Indonesia, and a coastal World Heritage site in England. The importance of education is emphasized for geo-climbing in Spain and all-terrain vehicles in Poland. A number of site management approaches are noted, including the importance of guiding as a management strategy as well as the value of a positive involvement by the local community. Finally, some examples are given of the risks associated with tourism activities in volcanic areas as well as related appropriate management activities.</p></abstract>

Geotourism is becoming a well established form of tourism based on the geological environment. It offers a new form of sustainable tourism which is more holistic then previous niche forms of tourism. However, with more people than ever visiting natural areas worldwide, the cumulative impacts of visitors on geological sites is increasing. This paper surveys visitor impacts and site management at geological sites which are geotourism destinations. We describe geotourism which is the engine driving the core activities of conservation, education and sustainable development in geoparks. We then outline some lessons learned from management in dealing with visitor impacts at a heavily visited geopark in Taiwan, a volcano in Indonesia, and a coastal World Heritage site in England. The importance of education is emphasized for geo-climbing in Spain and all-terrain vehicles in Poland. A number of site management approaches are noted, including the importance of guiding as a management strategy as well as the value of a positive involvement by the local community. Finally, some examples are given of the risks associated with tourism activities in volcanic areas as well as related appropriate management activities.

Geotourism Destinations – Visitor Impacts and Site Management Considerations

Czech Journal of Tourism

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Geotourism is becoming a well established form of tourism based on the geological environment. It offers a new form of sustainable tourism which is more...

Geotourism Destinations – Visitor Impacts and Site Management Considerations

Published Online: Aug 29, 2018

Page range: 111 - 129

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cjot-2017-0006

Keywords
geotourism, geosites, UNESCO, impacts, destination management, sustainable development

© 2017 Ross K. Dowling et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Geotourism Destinations – Visitor Impacts and Site Management Considerations

Published Online: Aug 29, 2018

Page range: 111 - 129

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cjot-2017-0006

Keywordsgeotourism, geosites, UNESCO, impacts, destination management, sustainable development

© 2017 Ross K. Dowling et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
geotourism, geosites, UNESCO, impacts, destination management, sustainable development