The Geotourism Industry in the 21st Century

The Origin, Principles, and Futuristic Approach

Bahram Nekouie Sadry, Bahram Nekouie Sadry

• Publisher: Apple Academic Press
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000012507
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Hostelería, viajes y turismo

Here is an engaging overview of the development of, definition of, and approach to modern geotourism, a growing movement to help sustain and showcase the distinctive geographical characteristics of many places around the world. This volume provides a clear conceptual framework with illustrative examples from all corners of the world to better understand abiotic nature-based tourism. The volume looks at the establishment and effective management of the over 140 UNESCO geoparks around the world and other travel and tourism destinations of interest for their significant historical, cultural, and frequently stunning physical attributes. With studies from a selection of geotourist areas, the volume explores urban geotourism, mining heritage, geomorphological landforms, geoheritage (based on cultural and historical interest), roadside geology of the U. S., community engagement and volunteer management programs, and much more. There is even a chapter on space and celestial geotourism.

Foreword 1

 

 

 

 

It is less than 25 years since the first formal definition of geologically/geomorphologically based modern geotourism was published. Geotourism provision essentially gives travelers (or geotourists) the opportunity to acquire knowledge and understanding of a destination’s Earth history, geological elements, and landscapes. Indeed, across most of the world, geotourism has long been considered a geologically focused form of tourism. Perhaps, surprisingly, its antecedents can be traced back to at least the 17^th century. By promoting and imparting something of the wonder of geoscientific inquiry and its outputs, geotourism can engender amongst its participants sufficient empathy to motivate their support for the protection and conservation of geodiversity and geoheritage, that is, “geoconservation.” Both modern geotourism and geoconservation, alongside practitioner reportage, have from the early 1990s attracted academic study and consequently evolving managerial and theoretical underpinnings.

The seminal 1995 geotourism definition, published in Environmental Interpretation magazine, following further research and reflection, was subsequently revised several times by its author. That author has freely acknowledged that others—particularly in Australia, China, and Europe—had either mentioned “tourism geology” or something similar but had generally not indicated any specific meaning of their terms; their mentions with the associated studies really helped to lay the groundwork for modern geotourism’s widespread acceptance as a new paradigm.

The first dedicated national geotourism conference, Tourism in Geological Landscapes, was held in Belfast at the Ulster Museum in 1998. The Inaugural Global Geotourism Conference, much practitioner focused, was held only a decade ago in Fremantle, Australia. The first international conference on the history of geotourism, The Appreciating Physical Landscapes: Geotourism 1670–1970 conference, was held in London at the Geological Society as recently as 2012. Meanwhile, The First International Conference on Geoparks was held in Beijing in 2004.

The emergence of modern geotourism and the provision of geosites and geomorphosites interpreted for tourists both predate, by at least a couple of decades, the designation of the first geoparks; the latter can be standalone ensembles of geosites and geomorphosites or part of some national or international designation. The first geoparks were established in Europe in 2000. Significantly, UNESCO’s original Geoparks Programme Feasibility Study report of that year included the seminal geotourism definition and its major concepts. Formal designation as a member of Global UNESCO Network of Geoparks network has been available since 2004. Although geoparks were initially a European development, it is in Asia that they have particularly expanded in numbers and popularity. For example, the People’s Republic of China has more than a quarter (31 of 111) and the region had over a third (39 of 111) of the UNESCO Global Geoparks designated by the mid-2010s; additionally, that country had by then designated 185, and recognized another potential 56, National Geoparks. Geoparks have done much, and more significantly than any other single initiative, to promote and develop geology-based tourism. Indeed, to maintain their UNESCO geopark membership, they must offer interpretative services. Probably the greatest contribution of geoparks is their requirement to engage with the broader, especially local and business, than just the Earth science communities. They are one of the success stories of 21^st-century sustainable tourism, something for which their proponents are to be congratulated.

Modern geotourism provision meets geotourists’ needs by encouraging them to visit localities with spectacular or readily appreciated, and usually (on-site and/or off-site) interpreted, geological/geomorphological features. These features are often more readily, at least in the marked seasonal climates of Europe and North America, seen outside of the major vegetation growth period; hence, potentially it can extend the tourism season in some coastal and upland areas. Of course, the appreciation of physical landscapes and the extraction of their mineral resources has been a pragmatic human activity, long before the recognition and practice of geotourism, especially for the purposes of agriculture, construction, and metallurgy; evidence for this can be found in both the archaeological and historical records.

The breadth of geotourism’s encompass is clear from the preceding paragraphs. They suggest that any attempt to summarize this breadth of geoscience and its tourism component in a single book is a major and challenging undertaking. This book’s 23 chapters are spread across five sections covering geotourism’s concepts, assessment, interpretative provision, geoparks, and its global future. They have been contributed by an international assemblage of 35 authors, each contributing from their own perspectives and experiences. The various authors explore the spectrum of modern geotourism provision, practice, and development. The range of topics covered range from urban tourism to the world’s best geosites and from mining geoheritage to geotrails and interpretative writing. The included case studies, geographically spread from Albania to the Azores and the Americas to Japan, indicate the variety and wide distribution, geographically and by type, of modern geotourism provision. The diversity of views expressed in these chapters, helpfully summarized by the Editor, challenges readers to engage in studies to further understanding and disseminating geotourism beyond its current strongholds.

This book is a timely contribution to studies on the status and practice of modern geotourism. Its publication would not have been realized without the personal vision, wide connections, organizational skills and perseverance of the Editor, Bahram Nekouie Sadry. Fellow students of geotourism and the wider readership of geography and tourism specialists owe him, for this sterling effort, a considerable debt of gratitude—one which I am most happy to wholeheartedly express. As Bahram suggests in the book’s opening sentence “Geotourism is an emerging and promising field for enjoyable and meaningful experiences in contemporary tourism.” Similarly, this book is an enjoyable read and will add understanding and meaning to its readers’ own geotourism experiences!

—Thomas A. Hose, PhD
Honorary Research Associate School of Earth Sciences University of Bristol United Kingdom & Visiting Professor Faculty of Science University of Novi Sad Serbia

March 2019

Foreword 2

 

 

 

 

This is an important book because it brings together the interpretive and management aspects of geotourism on a global scale. It reveals geotourism’s potential to popularize the fundamentals of geoscience and open up new pathways of sustainable economic development. Through his own chapters and those of the authors he has invited, Dr. Sadry has conveyed his global knowledge of the geopark movement and the art of geoscience interpretation.

For me as an American geologist, geoscience educator, Roadside Geology coauthor, and chapter author in this book, it is my first introduction to the terms geopark, geosite, or geomorphosite. This may be an example of the cross-fertilization a work of this scope can achieve, for example, inspiring its US readers to advocate for our country joining UNESCO’s geopark system.

People know some aspects of nature in their bones. Scanning the night sky, they know that the Moon is Earth’s neighbor and the stars are far, far away. In contrast, awareness is rare that shapes of hills area snapshot result of continuing Earth processes, while the bedrock is a legible record of many moments in the unimaginably distant past. This book offers the hope that in a well-interpreted geopark, visitors will get “deep time” and Earth processes into their bones, the way we geologists experience them.

I first heard the word geotourism in the late 1970s from my PhD advisor, Professor Dietrich Roeder. He is credited with, in 1969, introducing the word “subduction” from the Alpine literature into its present plate-tectonic sense. Though German was his native language, you only knew that because his English was “too good.” He was playful in his use of it. Geotourism for him described the pleasure of blending geologic insights along the roadside with awareness of the geology’s connections to local nature and culture.

The geotourism concept inspired me in 2001 to take some Georgia teachers to the Grand Canyon. I wanted my group to internalize the canyon’s lessons on Earth processes and deep time. Was it possible to build the story up piece by piece on the drive from Phoenix Airport to our destination? Though I did not know the word “geosites” until I read this book, such sites were my answer. In Roadside Geology of Arizona by Halka Chronic, I learned that nearly the whole sequence of layers seen in the Grand Canyon is exposed in road cuts heading north from Payson, a town about 90 miles northeast of Phoenix. Four miles from Payson, in a county park and nearby road cut, you can lay a hand on the Great Unconformity, with your thumb on a 1.6-billion-year-old rock that represents the roots of a mountain chain planed flat by erosion. Your fingers touch sandstone layers from the Cambrian Period, when life with shells first appeared, more than a billion years later. A perfect geosite to create a memorable experience, but with neither sign nor park brochure to mention it.

In the 21^st century, the need for bone-deep awareness of Earth processes is greater every day. Without it, people are prone to imagining that scientists are only guessing when they say that burning coal is raising global temperatures, or that mostly gradual changes to landscapes and climate enabled the evolution of whales, tree frogs, and people. Admittedly, much progress could be made if politicians would finally yield to expert advice that geoscience in school needs equal emphasis with chemistry, physics, and biology. But this book offers an additional vision. Imagine putting the “Great Unconformity” in a starring role in a geopark promoted as a tourist attraction. Imagine, too, the local economic benefits of opening this new front of popular attention.

In 2012, I wanted to help teachers and others internalize plate boundary processes in a trip to California to be called “Geology on the Edge.” I thought to promote it using Professor Roeder’s word “geotourism.” Having the internet by then, I searched for the term. To my surprise, Wikipedia informed me that a team with the blessing of the National Geographic Society had lassoed it as a synonym for sustainable tourism, with only incidental Earth science significance. Fortunately, I persisted to find a blog by Dr. Sadry that identified geotourism as a parallel concept to ecotourism, distinguished as “abiotic nature-based tourism.”

The phrase “abiotic nature” seems strange at first. From the outer edges of Earth’s atmosphere to the deepest mines and drill-holes, it is now clear that some form of life is ever present. Even the first tourist in space, Dennis Tito, whom Dr. Sadry mentions in his intriguing “Space and Celestial Geotourism” chapter, brought biota with him. But ecologists use “abiotic” abstractly for the nonliving components of the larger Earth system. Without them, life could not exist. If we fail to preserve Earth’s favorable abiotic features, its special atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere, we fail to preserve ourselves.

Having found his blog, I emailed Dr. Sadry to ask how I could help support his meaning of geotourism. One eventual answer was his invitation to write a chapter (which became two) for this book. Being further asked to write this Foreword gave me the opportunity to review his entire labor of love, this book, filling in numerous gaps in my knowledge of geotourism.

In these chapters, you will read about successes and challenges in several countries with setting aside localities for geotourism. Whether carved out by glaciers and rivers, or miners’ dynamite and pickaxes, rock outcroppings attract visitors, and tourism can help local economies.

Reading on, you will learn of the tradeoffs between signage, leaflets, and digital media in conveying geoscience concepts. You will experience the tension between the often-lucrative enterprise of selling access to nature’s joyrides, and the challenging and sometimes costly work of imparting wisdom in the ways of the planet. And you will see that like its sister activity, ecotourism, geotourism includes both keeping local people invested as volunteers and beneficiaries, and managing resources, so that we visitors do not love a place to death.

Regarding education by firsthand experience, in the 19^th century, American geologist James McFarlane summed up geotourism’s potential (his italics):

to teach persons not versed in geology … not as in a textbook, but by pointing to the things themselves … There are some kinds of knowledge too that cannot be obtained from books, but must be gathered by actual observation.

This book will help geopark managers, geoscience educators, and all researchers and students of geotourism to use those “things themselves” to instill bone-deep awareness of how the planet works. It will also help them use geotourism to create economic value for alleviating poverty while protecting resources for future generations. Thank you, Dr. Sadry, for having the knowledge, vision, and energy to bring it all together.

 

—William (Bill) Witherspoon, PhD, PG
Retired Geologist Leading Walks and Talks Co-author, Roadside Geology of Georgia March 2019

Acknowledgments

First, I would like to thank the contributors, all thirty-four of them. They are from various countries all over the world and are all professionals in their fields. I am grateful to them for entrusting their work to me in the following 23 chapters, as well as being patient as the project moved through its various stages. The contributors are to be thanked for their willing participation in this project and for bestowing on me the joy of working with such an outstanding cadre of authors. While some of the contributors are young researchers, others are august professors, global geotourism pioneers, and/ or well-known writers. Though some of them are from private business and administration firms, most are academics, and some have become friends while writing this book. I would like to express my deep thanks to them all for addressing my requests. This is actually your book.

Secondly, I would like to thank the publishing staff, the staff of Apple Academic Press Inc. USA, who worked with me. It was impossible for this book to be accomplished without Sandra Jones Sickels assistance (VP, Editorial and Marketing of Apple Academic Press Inc.); she reviewed the book proposal after it had been declined. I wish specially to thank Ashish Kumar, AAP publisher, as well as Rakesh Kumar (pre-production Manager for AAP) and the whole managerial and production teams. Thank you also to my colleague Dr. Neda T. Farsani for her effe...