Geotourism

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For most users of the term, geotourism refers to a sub-area of tourism that primarily involves visiting geologically significant places ( geotopes, etc.). It is a segment of tourism that is characterized by the type of destination visited (also called destination in tourism research ) - elements of the lithosphere as a tourist attraction - or by the specific interest or motivation of tourists (in the geology and neighboring Topics) is determined. There are also other understandings of the term in the literature that have occasionally led to confusion in the past.

The goal for operators of geotourism facilities is to develop, market and convey geological and scenic features in a sustainable manner. It is driven by the geoparks .

On the definition of geotourism

As a rule, geotourism refers to tourism activities that involve visiting geological sites and phenomena - such as B. rocks, caves, cliffs, quarries and other outcrops , but also geoscientific nature trails, geological museums, mines and the like. or larger natural areas with special geological features (e.g. volcanic or karst areas ). It is a special form of nature tourism . Newsome and Dowling (2010) write: "Geotourism is a form of natural area tourism that specifically focuses on geology and landscape", and Heidi Megerle defined geotourism in 2008 as "... a branch of theme tourism that is based on recording, processing, valorization and Marketing of the broad range of topics related to the history of the earth and landscape including their interactions with vegetation, fauna, cultural landscape history and the current use of the landscape by humans ”.

In addition, an understanding of geotourism occasionally appears in international literature that largely equates it with ecotourism. This mindset was initiated by an initiative by the US magazine (and society) National Geographic . However, this concept of geotourism has not caught on, not even in English-speaking countries.

Thomas A. Hose, who has published a lot on the subject of geotourism, also sticks to a rather unusual conception of geotourism: "The provision of interpretative and service facilities for geosites and geomorphosites and their encompassing topography"; For years this author has confused the definition of the term with the description of the tasks to be performed in the context of geotourism. The author who expresses this criticism, however, confuses tourism as an economic branch with the activity of the tourist , namely travel .

On the history of geotourism

On the one hand, geotourism is not such a new phenomenon. Ever since tourism has existed, people have made travel destinations that can be viewed as "geological" in the broadest sense: for example show caves (such as the Postojna caves or special rock formations (such as the Loreley ). Vesuvius as an active volcano has been visited for centuries precisely because of this special geological feature. And entire landscapes are attractive travel destinations because of their geological design, such as the Middle Rhine Valley and the karst landscapes of the Swabian and Franconian Alb ). On the other hand, with these examples, the question naturally arises to what extent the visitors' interest was actually focused on geology or simply on spectacular sights.

A more geoscientific conception of geotourism developed from the 1980s, when the area was increasingly discovered as a field of activity for trained geoscientists. If you want to convey more geoscientific phenomena to visitors, these must be explained accordingly, be it by trained travel guides or through publications or signage in the area.

literature

  • Allmrodt, Nancy: Geotourism in Thuringia: An analysis of the demand structure of the National Geopark Inselsberg-Drei Gleichen . Diplomica, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-8428-6004-9 .
  • Edelmann, Jens: Climb and explore volcanoes. Volcano tours, volcanism, forms of eruption, behavior in the event of a volcanic eruption, rocks and minerals, interesting volcanic areas, tours with children: planning, costs, equipment, safety, photography, sources of information. 2nd updated edition. Reise Know-How Rump, Bielefeld 2007, ISBN 978-3-8317-1625-8
  • Kunze, Harald: The effects of geotourism on regional development (=  Series of the German Society for Geosciences . No. 86 ). Schweizerbarth, Stuttgart June 2, 2015, p. 32 , doi : 10.1127 / sdgg / 86/2015/32 ( summary ).
  • Megerle, Heidi (ed.): Geotourism. Innovative approaches to tourism valorization and sustainable regional development. 2nd revised and expanded edition (=  Geography in Science and Practice . No. 1 ). Scientific publishing house Marc Oliver Kersting, Rottenburg am Neckar 2008.
  • David Newsome, Ross K. Dowling (Eds.): Geotourism: The Tourism of Geology and Landscape . Goodfellow Publishers Ltd, Woodeaton, Oxford 2010.
  • Susanne Niklas: Geotourism in practice - illustrated using the case study Geopark Ries (=  magazine for tourism science . Volume 3 , no. 1 ). Lucius & Lucius, May 2011, ISSN  1867-9501 , doi : 10.1515 / tw-2011-0107 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Geotopes and Geotourism. Lower Saxony State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology , accessed on September 13, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Geotourism and Geoparks. State Office for Geology and Mining Saxony-Anhalt , accessed on September 13, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b Setting an agenda for geotourism . In: David Newsome, Ross K. Dowling (Eds.): Geotourism: The Tourism of Geology and Landscape . Goodfellow Publishers Ltd, Woodeaton, Oxford 2010, p.  3, 4 .
  4. ↑ Heidi Megerle (ed.): Geotourism. Innovative approaches to tourism valorization and sustainable regional development (=  geography in science and practice . No. 1 ). 2nd revised and expanded edition. Scientific publishing house Marc Oliver Kersting, Rottenburg am Neckar 2008, p. 25 .
  5. ↑ Thomas A. Hose: Geoheritage and Geotourism. A European Perspective . The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2016.
  6. ↑ Thomas A. Hose: Geoheritage and Geotourism. A European Perspective . The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2016 ( review [accessed March 11, 2018]).