Discovering a Project for the Development of Geotourism in Rural Areas: The Paleontological and Archaeological Interpretation Centre of Tamajón (CIPAT, Guadalajara, Spain)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The work presented here is of a somewhat different nature than a typical academic discussion. The text is a form of case study, showing in an interesting way the use of geological, archaeological and environmental values for didactic and tourist purposes. The issue so presented is difficult to assess in a typically research context. 
This is not, of course, a criticism of the quality of the material, but it would have been useful to clearly emphasise in the introduction the nature of this submission, its purpose and - importantly - the methodology used (even if it is only a case study).
I also suggest that the theoretical information on the geological situation of the area under analysis (subsection 3.1), its "uniqueness" and exceptional character - why this particular site has been chosen for the creation of such a centre - be slightly expanded.
Finally, it would be useful to indicate the study area more precisely on the map, especially on a general cartogram showing the whole of Spain.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,
I send you the improved version of the co-authored work Discovering a
project for the development of Geotourism in rural areas: The Palaeontological
and Archaeological Interpretation Centre of Tamajón (CIPAT, Guadalajara,
Spain), for its possible publication in Land.
In it, the original manuscript (text and Figure 1) has been revised and
modified, according to what was suggested by you and the remaining reviewers.
All the changes in text have been highlighted in blue in the attached file.
We want to recognize your work and of the remaining reviewers of this
manuscript, who have improved notably its original content. Our gratitude has
been expressed explicitly in “Acknowledgements”.
With best regards,

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The inauguration of this museum, widely supported by the local authorities, shows once again the extent to which Spain is committed to the promotion of its paleontological heritage.
I think it would be important to recall in the introduction the many achievements already present in the provinces of Asturias, Rioja, Soria, Castile, around Teruel ...

Nothing is said about the total investment cost of the operation, except that the entrance is free for the moment, but we know that in these small structures it is often the management that is complicated.

The authors could also emphasize the protection methods put in place for footprint sites because this type of geosite is often very vulnerable.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,
I send you the improved version of the co-authored work Discovering a
project for the development of Geotourism in rural areas: The Palaeontological
and Archaeological Interpretation Centre of Tamajón (CIPAT, Guadalajara,
Spain), for its possible publication in Land.
In it, the original manuscript (text and Figure 1) has been revised and
modified, according to what was suggested by you and the remaining reviewers.
All the changes in text have been highlighted in blue in the attached file.
We want to recognize your work and of the remaining reviewers of this
manuscript, who have improved notably its original content. Our gratitude has
been expressed explicitly in “Acknowledgements”.
With best regards,

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

The paper presents the context of establishing an interpretation centre of the rural community of Tamajón. It is explained b the authors that the interpretation centre was achieved after several years of accumulated investigations and research on the paleonthological and archaeological sites in the region. The article details the procediments for setting up the centre, as well as design decision on the visitor's experience. The manuscript brings light to a very important topic related to establishing visiting infrastructure in rural areas aiming raising awareness among the visitor for the many values of the local geodiversity.

Overall, the text has a report style, being worth mentioning that the text lacks in scientif contribution and does not present a clear research question related to the establishment of a visitor's centre. The authors does not present any quantified data regarding the number of visitors neither the overall profile of visitor. These results could be used to discuss the effects of establishing a visitor centre in that specific community.

The Geotourism, Geoconservation and Geoeducation concepts are not well explained, which can be better adressed while presenting the aims and outcomes of creating the CIPAT.
There are no detailed comments regarding the constraints of creating such kind of interpretation centre in terms of budgeting, storing and displaying the fossils collections for example.

My recommendation to the authors is to submit the manuscript as a report, since the aim of the paper is to present the context of creating an interpretation centre.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,
I send you the improved version of the co-authored work Discovering a
project for the development of Geotourism in rural areas: The Palaeontological
and Archaeological Interpretation Centre of Tamajón (CIPAT, Guadalajara,
Spain), for its possible publication in Land.
In it, the original manuscript (text and Figure 1) has been revised and
modified, according to what was suggested by you and the remaining reviewers.
All the changes in text have been highlighted in blue in the attached file.
We want to recognize your work and of the remaining reviewers of this
manuscript, who have improved notably its original content. Our gratitude has
been expressed explicitly in “Acknowledgements”.
With best regards,

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf