Geotourism

In Australia, geotourism is defined as tourism which focuses on an area's geology and landscape as the basis for providing visitors’ engagement, learning and enjoyment. Geotourism has great potential as a new nature-based tourism product. Wherever tourism contributes a direct environmental benefit to a visited location, its clients gain empathy for the holistic heritage of the area, and this reward creates enhanced customer loyalty to the operator. The Australian Government’s 1994 National Ecotourism Strategy considered that ecotourists may include a mix of independent travelers, people who travel in organised groups of a scientific, educational or recreational nature, and individuals or families who are interested in an ecotourism experience as part of a varied holiday. Having regard to demographic and lifestyle considerations, it has been subsequently considered that geotourism, if positioned as an alternative, knowledge-adding product, could attract a different demographic; i.e., affluent over 45 y.o. travellers, particularly from amongst geoscience professionals from within these segmentations, as well as their partners and friends. Alumni and professional societies such as the Geological Society of Australia (GSA) were identified as the most likely target groups. To address this proposition, in 2008, Leisure Solutions® and the School of Marketing, Tourism and Leisure at Edith Cowan University undertook a cooperative market research survey of members of the GSA. This paper addresses the rationale for and scope of this research work as well as reviews from then available research materials which could assist marketers in understanding who are the people most likely to be interested in geotourism. The findings and conclusions from this research are also discussed. The paper also reviews the substantial progress made in Australia since 2008 in gaining the support of the Australian geoscience profession and the nature-based tourism industry in embracing geotourism.

In Australia, geotourism is defined as tourism which focuses on an area's geology and landscape as the basis for providing visitors’ engagement, learning and enjoyment. Geotourism has great potential as a new nature-based tourism product. Wherever tourism contributes a direct environmental benefit to a visited location, its clients gain empathy for the holistic heritage of the area, and this reward creates enhanced customer loyalty to the operator. The Australian Government’s 1994 National Ecotourism Strategy considered that ecotourists may include a mix of independent travelers, people who travel in organised groups of a scientific, educational or recreational nature, and individuals or families who are interested in an ecotourism experience as part of a varied holiday. Having regard to demographic and lifestyle considerations, it has been subsequently considered that geotourism, if positioned as an alternative, knowledge-adding product, could attract a different demographic; i.e., affluent over 45 y.o. travellers, particularly from amongst geoscience professionals from within these segmentations, as well as their partners and friends. Alumni and professional societies such as the Geological Society of Australia (GSA) were identified as the most likely target groups. To address this proposition, in 2008, Leisure Solutions® and the School of Marketing, Tourism and Leisure at Edith Cowan University undertook a cooperative market research survey of members of the GSA. This paper addresses the rationale for and scope of this research work as well as reviews from then available research materials which could assist marketers in understanding who are the people most likely to be interested in geotourism. The findings and conclusions from this research are also discussed. The paper also reviews the substantial progress made in Australia since 2008 in gaining the support of the Australian geoscience profession and the nature-based tourism industry in embracing geotourism.

The magnificent Flinders Ranges, which is an Australian National Landscape and is now looking at World Heritage status, comprises a number of serial sites within a topographically and environmentally varied geographic region of South Australia, which contains outstanding scenic, environmental, cultural, historical and, above all, scientific value. The area was described as ‘one great big outdoor museum’ by Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, one of Australia’s most distinguished geologists.

In 1968 the geology graduates of The University of Melbourne necessarily made career decisions that determined the direction of the next phase of their lives, but most responded to the lure of the mining resources boom of that time and became exploration geologists.

In September 2018, 50 years on, a seven-day, 50th anniversary geotour was organised, commencing in the heritage mining site of Broken Hill, in western New South Wales, to commemorate the class excursion to attend the Annual Conference of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in 1968. As well as a visit to current Broken
Hill tourism attractions, the 2018 trip was followed by a tour of the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary of the North Flinders Ranges, Wilpena Pound, the Brachina Gorge Geotrail, and the Ediacara Biota.

As part of my project of end of study to master geotourism ecotourism and sustainable
development, I conducted an inventory of the geosites in Toubkal National Park specifically
in the Azzaden Valley. The beauty of its mountainous landscape, diversity and quality of its
nature and culture of its people over the green valley. This will allow us to note that the valley
has great natural potential that gives it to be an ecotourism destination of excellence. We have
noticed that the study area suffers from a lack of tourism promotion. Based on this fact the
economic benefits are low. For this reason, we have proposed a card of an ecotourism circuit
in the Valley of Azzaden to promote a socio-economic activity that will bring some direct and
indirect financial impact on the population while integrating a sustainable development.

Geotourism consists of an activity that is located at the interface of nature tourism and cultural tourism, as it can develop in both natural and rural environments as well as in urban environments, disclosuring and promoting geodiversity and its geoheritage in a strict sense or its relationship with civilizations and cultures, in a lato sense. It consists of the addition of geodiversity and geoheritage to the tourist activity, focused on places of geotourism interest, benefiting the local communities and giving a new tourist experience to the visitors.
This thesis aims to fill a gap regarding the mapping, with subsequent disclosure, of the situ geodiversity in situ, geoheritage and geodiversity ex situ associated with the Cultural Heritage of João Pessoa (PB) and surroundings, through the union of the natural aspects, especially the abiotic ones to cultural aspects. In order to promote the dissemination of the valued abiotic environment and the Cultural Heritage of the area, products were developed, of which the geotouristic map with specific itineraries is highlighted, divided into three parts (Historic Center, Urban Coast and South Coast), also in the form of folders and three geointerpretative panels in emblematic places of geoturistic interest distributed in each one of these parts.
After an extensive collection of geoscientific information about the Paraíba Basin and a detailed analysis of historical documents about the Parahyba Capitany and its Cultural Heritage, 48 geotouristic interest locals were selected in the area, of which 35 were associated with the abiotic environment (Geodiversity and Geoheritage) and 13 to the Cultural Heritage. Initially, these locals were inventaried, by completing a record, in which aesthetic, scientific, cultural, functional (ecological) and economic values played a fundamental role.
Subsequently, the geotouristic interest locals associated with the abiotic environment were evaluated from a semiquantitative point of view, through a methodology proposed in this work, where aesthetic, cultural, scientific, functional (ecological) and use values were considered, where those with the highest geotouristic potentials were inserted in the route, resulting in 24 geotourism interest locals.
Considering the geoutourism activity, although sustainable, can cause damages where it is carried out, a semiquantitative evaluation of the ‘Imminent Risk Index’ of the geotourism sites associated to the abiotic environment was calculated, using as an indicator the ‘Need for Protection’ of each local, from 10 weighted parameters.
Concomitant with the evaluations carried out, it was analyzed the perception that travelers who were in the Parahyba Capitany during the colonial period had about the physical environment that was primordial for the consolidation and urban expansion of the capital, resulting in its cultural landscape in which the privileged nature, associated to the important cultural heritage, resulted in the appropriation of this coastal environment, with the consequent urban evolution dating from the sixteenth century. For this, it was used a large iconographic and textual documentation elaborated during the period, with the role of adding to the geotouristic route this information.
In this perspective, it is concluded that the area of the present thesis has potential for the insertion of the geotourism activity, since it presents undeniable historical and geoscientific importance, as, respectively João Pessoa is the fourth oldest city in the country and the Paraíba Basin was the last to detach itself from the African continent when the southern portion of the megacontinent Pangeia, denominated Gondwana, fragmented. In addition, a new meaning could be attributed to the landscape, ranging from the aesthetic-artistic to the functional-economic, and it was intentional to interlace the geoheritage elements to the cultural practices that forged the city and the identity of the people who settled on it, as well as interlace the geoheritage to the tourism in João Pessoa, so that another motivation awakens the interest of the tourists, now turned to the bias of the lithosphere and hydrosphere, allied to the local centennial culture.

Harmankaya Canyon is located within boundaries of Karahasanlar settlement near Yenipazar district and Harmanköy settlement near İnhisar district in the east of the province of Bilecik. It was declared an area of nature protection under the name of "Harmankaya Canyon Nature Park" in 2012 by the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs. This study introduces Harmankaya Canyon, in the first place, by discussing its geomorphological characteristics, which play a significant role in the declaration of canyon as a nature park, along with the formation. Then, it discusses the potentials born by the canyon as a newly emerging destination of geotourism. Harmankaya Canyon was created by Harmanköy Stream, one tributary of Sakarya River, within Bilecik limestones of Mesozoic age. The canyon is 2.3 km long and 650-700 m deep, with a difference of altitude of 136 m between the entrance and the exit. Having quite an impressive view, the canyon was mainly formed as a result of fluvial processes under the control of lithological, tectonic, and climatic factors together. Thanks to its geomorphological characteristics, the Harmankaya Canyon Nature Park offers both sports and social attractions, like geotourism bound by geographical formations, canyoning relying on natural sources, trekking, rock-climbing, rafting, paragliding, and photography. Considering its location close to the larger Turkish cities, such as Istanbul, Bursa, Kocaeli, and Eskişehir and accessibility, the Harmankaya Canyon Nature Park is thought to meet all criteria for a destination of day-trips and weekend excursions for a relief from urban stress or for indulging in nature. SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis was performed to unveil the touristic potential of the canyon. As a result, it was found to pose far more strengths and opportunities than weaknesses and threats.

The inclusion of elements of the natural landscape, particularly abiotic heritage, and cultural heritage, to touristic activity as a result of a more demanding market ultimately provides the rise of geotourism, an integrated activity between geosciences, culture, and history of the place in which they operate. The cemeterial tourism is a part of the urban geotourism now rising in Brazil, wherein observation and analysis of the esthetics and of the georesources used in tombs make many tourists and scholars start to patronize this new touristic niche. Thus, this paper proposes a geotouristic trail in Senhor da Boa Sentença Cemetery, the oldest at the Paraiba capital, northeastern Brazil, inaugurated in 1856, by mapping the stone materials used in the gravestones, which serve as tools for sociological, architectural, and geosciences studies. Thirteen different types of granites, as well as other types of rocks, have been identified, as well as various architectural styles; the trail can thus be used both by geotourists and scholars from various fields, being the cemetery an open-air museum.

The objective of this paper is to present a view of the geoheritage of the Paraiba state south coast, northern Brazil, in order to insert potential sites in coastal geo touristic routes. For this, a mapping of this geoheritage was carried out through the inventory of sites with relevant value. This coast is part of a sedimentary basin that developed on a failed crystalline basement, whose Plio-Pleistocene reactivation resulted in a stepped substrate, and the terrain has coastal geo touristic potential from the point of view of its geoheritage. It was necessary a detailed study of the geoscientific literature of the area, besides a detailed field work, whose look about the physical substrate reflected the importance of this as a heritage element of space. The relief was fragmented into three major morpho sculptural units: coastal plains and tablelands, limited by the slopes, all with their potential sites, developed at various scales and presented herein. Coqueirinho Canyon, Tambaba Beach, Coqueirinho tombolo, the Coqueirinho cones of dejection and the Coqueirinho High Structural were identified as sites. It is therefore pertinent to interconnect this heritage to tourism in the area, so that more motivation arouses the interest of tourists, now turned to the bias of the lithosphere and hydrosphere.

INTRODUÇÃO A temática acerca do Patrimônio Natural é relativamente nova nas Geociências e não há unanimidade em sua definição e caracterização. A partir da Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre o Meio Ambiente Humano, realizado nos mês de junho de 1972, em Estocolmo, os problemas ambientais passaram a ser discutidos em uma escala amplificada e adentrando personagens que até então estavam secundarizados nesta pauta de discussões. Assim, em outubro e novembro do mesmo ano, em Paris, a temática ambientalista foi inserida na visão patrimonial do espaço, através da Convenção para a Proteção do Patrimônio Mundial, Cultural e Natural, sob a égide da UNESCO, onde os aspectos da natureza foram separados dos humano-culturais, pelo menos na prática, pois sabe-se que o re-conhecimento e proteção de uma cultura nacional se dá pela "integração dos elementos naturais e sus processo com as ações humanas, devido à identidade, sensibilidade e significados (religiosos, míticos, históricos, simbólicos, afetivos, entre outros)" (PINTO e OLIVEIRA FILHO, 2014, p. 23), estabelecidos entre o ser humano e a natureza. O Geopatrimônio (do inglês, 'Geoheritage') corresponde à porção abiótica do Patrimônio Natural, podendo ser subdividido em Patrimônio Geológico, Geomor-fológico, Pedológico e Hidrológico (RODRIGUES, 2009). Assim, neste trabalho, foi dissociado do patrimônio geológico, que consideramos corresponder a concei-tos complementares, mas distintos, sendo ambos enquadrados no patrimônio natural abiótico, conjuntamente com os elementos do património hidrológico e pedológico. O termo sítio foi introduzido nas Geociências por Panizza (2001), consistindo em uma porção do geopatrimônio que possui uma importância

Penyelenggaraan event Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) merupakan bagian dari pariwisata event yang manjadi bisnis dengan nilai belanja wisata yang tinggi yang didukung dengan infrastruktur dan fasilitas pariwisata dengan standar khusus. Pertumbuhan industry pariwisata di Indonesia tidak terlepas oleh semakin banyaknya penyelenggaraan event MICE tingkat internasional yang secara signifikan mendatangkan para wisatawan mancanegara. Pariwisata event khususnya MICE tidak terlepas dari peran serta beberapa pihak, seperti pemerintahan dari tingkat nasional sampai dengan tingkat lokal, asosiasi-asosiasi terkait penyelenggaraan kepariwisataan, perusahaan-perusahaan pendukung event MICE seperti event organizer, kontraktor, talent management maupun perbankan, serta keterlibatan masyarakat baik secara langsung maupun tidak langsung.

Saat ini Bandung merupakan salah satu kota yang menjadi destinasi penyelenggaraan event MICE di Indonesia. Apakah kota Bandung sudah siap dan layak untuk menjadi destinasi penyelenggara event MICE skala internasional? Artikel ini akan menjelaskan keterkaitan penyelenggaraan event MICE dengan para pemangku kepentingan, baik pemerintah maupun swasta. Berkaitan dengan infrastruktur dan fasilitas pariwisata kota Bandung, akan dijabarkan data dan perkembangannya menggunakan analisis data sekunder, diantaranya mengenai bandara, stasiun kereta api, terminal bis, penyediaan air bersih, hotel, restoran, pusat konvensi, ruang pameran, daya tarik wisata dan pusat kerajian khas sunda di Bandung.

Deskriptif kualitatif merupakan pendekatan yang digunakan dengan memberikan penjelasan dari beberapa literatur terkait disiplin ilmu tentang kepariwisataan dengan pembahasan mengenai konsep pariwisata MICE sebagai salah satu bentuk pariwisata event, kajian literatur mengenai MICE, kaitan pariwisata MICE dengan infrastruktur dan fasilitas pariwisata, kebijakan-kebijakan terkait pariwisata MICE di Indonesia, serta kesiapan kota Bandung dalam penyelenggaraan event MICE.

Hasil yang diharapkan dari artikel ini adalah mengetahui sejauh mana kesiapan kota Bandung menjadi destinasi event MICE berskala internasional dilihat dari penyediaan infrastruktur dan fasilitas pariwisata serta kebijakan dan kerjasama dengan para pemangku kepentingan.

Contemporary tourism development shows a shift of tourism demand towards highly specialized and sustainable tourism forms. This arises from the expanding environmental awareness among tourists and providers of tourism services during the last decade. Tourism destinations become more and more oriented towards attracting tourists who pursuit services and products of higher quality. On the other hand, destinations tend to facilitate the protection of natural and cultural tourism resources from excessive exploitation and devastation that arises from the saturation during a concentrated and relatively short tourism season. That can only be achieved through diverting the strategic developmental directions of tourism from the traditional "mass-tourism" forms towards new and more sustainable types of tourism. Such an example is the region of the National Park "Galicica" in the Ohrid area in the Republic of Macedonia. This region represents the most developed tourism region in the country with numerous quality natural and cultural resources concentrated on a relatively small area as well as the highest number of registered tourists' visits. Therefore, a real threat exists from the tourists that visit the region themselves, as well as the actions from the tourism offer to satisfy their needs. One of these tourism types that are based on sustainable development and that show great potential for development in this region represents geo-tourism. This type of tourism can be a great opportunity for developing a quality tourism brand.

The contemporary concept of creating and development of geotourism and geoparks is due to the expanding environmental awareness among tourists and providers of tourist services during the last decade. The development of this type of tourism based on sustainability, conservation and enhancement of cultural and natural heritage in established geoparks as protected areas has spread in many destinations around the world and represents an outstanding opportunity for creating an attractive tourism brand.  This will enable the destinations to attract tourists who pursuit quality services and products on one hand, as well as to facilitate the protection of tourist resources from excessive exploitation and devastation from the saturation that occurs during the concentrated and short tourist season. This however, is achieved only by diverting the strategic developmental directions of tourism towards new more sustainable forms. Linking geology and tourism is a relatively new idea for tourist destination development. Opposed to eco – tourism, which puts the focus on the protection of natural resources on one hand, geotourism on the other hand, not only protects but also stimulates the improvement of the overall natural and anthropogenic heritage through an integrated networking cooperation of all involved stakeholders

In the present note, we briefly illustrate the different phases of restoration and protection of the geopalaeontological site of “Cava
Duidduru”. The geosite is located near the small village of Genoni, in the Sarcidano area (central Sardinia, Italy). The site was an
abandoned quarry, recently renovated for scientific and tourism purposes. In fact, in the geosite it is possible to observe large sandstone
layer surfaces highly rich with marine fossils of the lower Miocene. The restoration of the quarry and the activities carried
out by the nearby palaeontological and archaeological museum P.AR.C. of Genoni are an excellent example to combine in a smart
way environmental restoration, protection and geotourism.

Si bien la Huasteca es una región de amplia biodiversidad y cultura, hoy en día es un territorio altamente vulnerable a la degradación ambiental, causada principalmente por las actividades humanas que se relacionan directa e indirectamente con el uso y extracción del agua, lo cual pone en peligro no sólo al pez ciego de las cavernas, sino a todos los organismos acuáticos de una de las cuencas de mayor importancia y con mayor número de especies de peces en México, por su alto porcentaje de endemismos que se derivan de factores como: a) su ubicación geográfica de transición, entre la región Neotropical y la región Neártica, b) la adaptación de varios grupos marinos a las corrientes de agua dulce, y c) la gran diversidad geológica de la región (geodiversidad).