Search Results (4)

This study explores the drivers of geologically responsible behaviour among geotourists in three geoparks in the Greater China region: Danxiashan UNESCO Global Geopark in southern China, Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark, and Yehliu Geopark in northern Taiwan. On-site questionnaire surveys were conducted, collecting over 800 respondents in these geoparks, and structural equation modelling was applied for our analysis. The findings reveal that geologically responsible behaviour is positively associated with environmentally responsible attitudes, in line with some previous research. Notably, place attachment and visitor satisfaction were not directly related to geologically responsible behaviour but were positively correlated with environmentally responsible attitudes. This suggests that emotional connections to geoparks and visitor satisfaction indirectly nurture environmentally responsible attitudes, subsequently leading to geologically responsible behaviour. These results offer practical implications for geopark management practices. Providing informative guided tours and quality informational materials can enhance visitors’ geological knowledge and foster environmentally responsible attitudes. The improvement of the visitor experience, combined with the dissemination of accurate environmental knowledge and conservation messaging, can enhance visitor satisfaction, deepen attachment to geoparks, and, ultimately, encourage more geologically responsible behaviours. Understanding these relationships can assist geotourism destinations in promoting geological resources’ conservation while enhancing the visitor experience. Full article

Geotourism is a rapidly growing market for tourism, and has gained huge popularity worldwide. Zaječar district is located in Eastern Serbia, and this area is famous for many attractive geotourism features that seek to be presented to the global tourism market. This article aims to present geotourist typology models based on their motivation and travel behaviour. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 194 respondents who visited the geosites of Zaječar district or have the intention to visit them. The data was processed by an exploratory factor analysis, one-way ANOVA, the t-test for independent samples, and multiple regression analyses for in-depth investigations and statistical validation of the findings. The results present three typology models of geotourists based on their motivation to visit geosites (health and relaxation, education and curiosity, socialisation), and three typology models of geotourists based on their travel behaviour (active behaviour, passive behaviour, individual behaviour). The analysis also revealed that motives significantly predict tourist behaviour. Also, this study shows that respondents (tourists) have a positive attitude towards local communities, and emphasise their importance for geotourism development. These findings could be helpful for policy managers and all other interested parties to create strategies and tourism products according to the needs of the potential geotourism market. Full article

Geotourism is one of the newest concepts within the field of tourism, and primarily focuses on promoting geological and geomorphological features in landscapes as tourist attractions. This new niche market segment within tourism is based on the conservation of geoheritage and geodiversity through appropriate sustainability measures and management. Geotourism is, however, a broad concept which encompasses many aspects of a range of tourism activities, such as transport, accommodation, destination amenities, recreation, planning, and management. A testament to the rapid growth of geotourism worldwide is the expansion of membership of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network, from 20 geoparks when it was founded in 2004 to 140 in 2018. Concurrent with the growth of geotourism, there has been an explosion in the number of scientific publications on issues related to the subject over the past few years. To date, the major focus of these publications has been on geotourism as an economic driver with respect to rural development. This special issue of Geotourism presents a collection of 11 scientific contributions that underpin the intimate connection between geotourism and its geological resources, while at the same time highlighting the broad scope of geotourism. These contributions increase our understanding of how geotourism has evolved over time, as well as its setting out what challenges it faces in the future. Full article

The last twenty years have seen considerable developments in geotourism, a form of sustainable tourism. This has been also a period of significant development for UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps), on one hand with the creation of the International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme, and the other, in the number and diversity of UGGps recognised across the world. Geoparks have particular characteristics, such as a spatial engagement across an area, as well as the long-term commitment associated with this type of label. UGGps take a broad approach to geotourism, and seek to engage with all demographics, including “unsuspecting” geotourists. This is particularly relevant when considering that the Geopark profile has evolved since the introduction of the UNESCO label, and that a number UGGps are pre-existing tourist destinations and have diverse economies and strong growth. UGGps draw on professional, multidisciplinary teams that combine scientific knowledge, science communication, and outreach events to achieve effective heritage transmission through actions that target schools, the local population, and the general public. These are not traditional structures and do not have behavioural constraints imposed on them as experienced by some educational structures or museums. The present case study is an example of the type of innovation seen in UGGps, whereby novel solutions are employed in order to touch as wide a public as possible. The action presented is a winter outreach event for the general public in the Chablais UNESCO Global Geopark (France), that was developed in partnership with the Portes du Soleil association of 12 ski resorts. This consisted of an orienteering/treasure hunt game across one of the world’s largest ski domains, that included panels with anecdotes presenting different aspects of the Chablais geoheritage. It demonstrates that it is possible to engage with a sporting public that is seeking experiences and is not expecting to sacrifice time or exert effort to deepen knowledge or gain cultural insight. Interestingly, the study shows that careful event design, including concise language choice and a strict avoidance of technical vocabulary, results in the effective transmission of heritage information. The game participants were not geotourists, and yet displayed a good appetite for Earth science and cultural heritage knowledge. The study concluded that the sporting general public retained information about the geoheritage of the area, was open to participating in future Chablais UGGp events, and that they were interested in returning both to explore other aspects of the territory, and to visit in other seasons. The Chablais UGGp assessed the success and quality of the event and confirmed the relevance of a well-considered and layered geotourism strategy for territories with an UGGp label. Full article