Geotourism and Related Concepts

The Phenomenon of Geotourism

It is accepted that geology-based tourism activities first started in England in the 17th century and started in other countries at about the same time (Hose, 2008). However, the concept of geotourism has recently been filled in a different way and started to be applied. In other words, this concept has been filled in by making a new definition that aims to determine the development of a reflex regarding the protection of these places, beyond having picnics in visually impressive and aesthetic locations. According to Hose (1995), geotourism is "Ensuring that tourists gain information and experience by explaining the geology and geomorphology of an area is important beyond the level of pure aesthetic evaluation, but also in terms of its contributions to the development of earth sciences". Stokes et al. (2003), while defining geotourism, stated that it is "a type of tourism that protects and develops the geographical character, culture, aesthetic heritage values ​​and the well-being of the people living there, including its surroundings". Newsome and Dowling (2010) have addressed the phenomenon of geotourism in a way that will be more widely accepted. According to the researchers, “Geotourism is a form of natural area tourism that focuses specifically on geology and landscape. Tourism to geosites promotes the protection of geodiversity and the understanding of geosciences through learning. This also provides protection of the geosite through independent visits to geological sites, visits to geological trails and observation terraces, guided tours, and geo-activities conducted under the supervision of visitor centers.” Therefore, when conducting geotourism activities in a region, the priority cannot be given only to taking something from this region and consuming it; on the contrary, the aim is to both protect the natural and cultural heritage elements here and to make a positive contribution to the lives of the people living there.

Geocaching, GeoTrail/GeoTour Phenomenon

Although Geotourism in the world is mostly concentrated in National Parks, Natural Habitats and Geoparks, the geotourism model called “Geocaching”, which can be defined as “having fun by traveling/learning by having fun”, has become widespread in the USA. Of course, GeoTrail/GeoTour tourism is at the forefront in this activity.

Geocaching enhances and enriches the traveler’s travels by offering them a unique way to discover a destination. This is especially true if the destination is set up to include a GeoTour or GeoTrail (PNP). A GeoTour or GeoTrail is a “Tour” of a destination through a series of “geocaches” set up by an organization or individual (PNP). A wide variety of GeoTrail/GeoTour routes have been created all over the world and especially in the USA. Many state and local tourism companies have discovered how Geocaching can enhance a tourist’s experience through a GeoTour or GeoTrail. Each GeoTour or GeoTrail is unique and usually provides visitors with a fun and deeper understanding/understanding of the destination. Some of these have certain special themes and this is enough, while others may include some rewards at the end of the route to encourage visitors to complete the entire tour (PNP). More or less GeoTour routes have been created in every state of the USA. There are currently 54 GeoTours/GeoTrails marketed in the USA, including the Santa Fe National Historic Trail GeoTour route, which includes a drive through Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The aim of this approximately 2500 km georoute is for visitors to experience both the striking geological formations and landscapes along this route and the well-preserved historical values ​​of the American West. Outside the USA, such routes have been created in Mexico and Canada on the same continent, and in the Caribbean in South America. Similarly, continental scale GeoTrails/GeoTour routes have been defined and operated in Australia. A GeoTrail is a georoute (AGS) that offers geotourism experiences through a journey connected to the geology and landscape of a region, with visitor participation based on learning and entertainment. A georoute is a guided or self-guided route through multiple (geographic) sites that interprets the geology and landscapes. A geosite is a single location (AGN) that offers tourism experiences through geology and landscape interpretation.

The identification of georoutes can be a stepping stone to the creation of a geopark. A georoute includes multiple locations of landscape and geological heritage importance that will attract tourists and contribute to the visitor experience. This georoute should include and integrate the geodiversity, biodiversity and cultural components (including mining heritage) of the region it passes through. Therefore, georoutes are best suited to be created around current tourist activity routes and to create logical journeys that connect accommodation locations. Georoutes can also include major transportation routes, walking and cycling trails, mining museums/industrial heritage elements, lakes and railway infrastructures that are in use/not in use. Therefore, georoutes are relatively easy to create and are considered a very cost-effective tool for improving regional marketing and development (AGS).

Except for the two continents mentioned above (USA, Australia), GeoTrail/GeoTour routes have been created and operated all over the world. Some of these are England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland in Europe; Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore and Thailand in Asia and New Zealand in Oceania. In these countries, many geo-routes (GeoTrail/GeoTour) have been introduced to geotourism and this "Georota Network" is expanding rapidly.

In this study, a context was adopted where geological formations and their time/space relationships would be prioritized and Geotrails with Geotraverses at their base were used as the GeoTrail/GeoTour route. The reason why these geotrails were arranged to follow the geotraverse lines was that a geological stack determined along this geotrail was clearly introduced to visitors from the base to the top. In this way, visitors develop their nature conservation reflexes by seeing unique evidence of a certain period of the formation of the earth's crust, while at the same time they have the opportunity to develop their social side by participating in cultural activities included in the activity along this geotrail. As emphasized in the Arouca Declaration (2011), the activity to be carried out along this geotrail should include emotional experiences rather than scientific ones and should arouse the curiosity of visitors, which was also emphasized as a prerequisite for geological heritage areas by Tilden (1957 and 2009). These geotraverses can be designed at very different scales. The geological stack to be promoted can be between a few tens of meters and a few thousand kilometers long. These geotraverses can remain within a declared geopark or a protected area that can be visited with permission, or they can pass through completely open areas that do not fall within any special protected area, just like the GeoTrail/GeoTour routes in the USA and Australia. However, as the applications are exemplified above, since there will be many geosites/geological heritage/cultural heritage/natural heritage elements/locations on these geotraverses, certain sections of these geotraverse lines can easily be defined as geoparks and transformed into special geotourism enterprises.

Ayazlar (2018) examined the “tourist profile” of visitors who can be considered as “geotourists” in Turkey on tourists visiting Kula and Pamukkale Geopark/Geosite areas. In the study conducted by the researcher on the tendency scale (GTS: Geotraveler Tendency Scale; Boley et al., 2011), it was revealed that the visitors were approximately equally distributed in terms of women and men, the age range was mainly clustered between 45 and 65, and the visitors had a highly educated profile. According to the researcher, it is understood that “geotourists” in Turkey are generally tourists who visit these areas after they retire. Accordingly, it was stated that geotourists in Turkey can generally be defined as tourists with high awareness (Ayazlar, 2018). Although this study was conducted in a relatively limited area, it clearly shows that the subject of geotourism is confined to a very narrow area in a country like Turkey, which has an extraordinary geodiversity and biodiversity. Ways should be found rapidly to shift this situation to lower age groups. In our opinion, one of these ways is to prepare georoutes suitable for lower age groups starting from primary school, as well as to prepare practical “get to know our world” education programs on georoutes suitable for young people who have started to develop nature awareness and who receive higher education in nature/science. One of the ways to do this is to convey the stories of the formation and coming together of the stacks that form the earth’s crust along the “Geotrawlers” to visitors in an understandable language. Here, the georoutes that constitute the subject of this study were determined on suitable routes along the geotraverses, which were determined to structurally cross the oldest rocks of Turkey, sometimes from one end to another and sometimes only a part of them. Completing the route by using numerous geosites/geological heritage/natural heritage/cultural heritage elements along the proposed georoutes and determining stops at weighted points in proportion to the demands of the visitors will be an extremely satisfactory and applicable geotourism behavior.

In order to emphasize the importance of this issue, it is necessary to briefly mention the data of the World Travel and Tourism Council. According to the report published by this institution in 2011, it was expected that the accommodation and tourism industry would provide 4% of the world's GDP (1.85 trillion US Dollars) in 2021, and these sectors were also expected to provide employment (120,427,000 jobs) that would constitute 3.6% of GDP (WTTC, 2011). In fact, in 2019, before the pandemic, the Travel and Tourism sectors (including direct, indirect and induced effects) reached 10.5% of all employment (334 million jobs) and 10.4% of global GDP (10.3 trillion US Dollars) (WTTC, 2023). Although these figures have decreased by 4% in 2023, there is still a very large economic circulation and employment. Therefore, in this period when the effects of the pandemic are zeroed and the world economies are opening up to the outside world, new tourism niches, new destinations and new attraction centers can be created in new tourism areas. Ecotourism and its branch, geotourism, are at the forefront of these in terms of diversity of possibilities.

In this study, it is envisaged that Turkey's geotourism potential can be re-projected using georoutes (GeoTrail/GeoTour). For this purpose, georoute proposals were created that follow the geotraverses determined on the Core Complex/Metamorphic Massifs where the oldest rocks of Turkey are exposed and include stops at locations (geosites) that will represent it. As mentioned above, the proposed georoutes should be created on routes that are still used today, on or very close to the main transportation arteries. In fact, the geologist's duty ends here. Analyzing this activity as a tourism activity and making projections should be left to the experts of the relevant sector. Another element that should not be forgotten is that the local population and public/private institutions living around the georoutes in question and who will be affected/benefit from this geotourism activity should be educated on where they are in the geotourism activity in question and how they will benefit from it by carrying out which activities. In short, this issue, like the geotourism phenomenon itself, requires a multidisciplinary approach and contribution.

What is a Geotraverse?

They are open geological cross-sections that clearly reflect how the rocks forming the earth's crust come together along a certain line. These are tectono-stratigraphic sections of the earth's crust with a defined base and ceiling. The geotraverse line does not have to follow a certain straight line. Depending on the geological features of the line, it can present a broken, sometimes curved structure. What is important here is not that the line is straight, but that it clearly contains characteristic information belonging to a certain period of the earth's crust along this line. It should be clearly defined where the line starts and where it ends by following which route. It is essential to have definitive data belonging to a geological period between these two points. In other words, the main purpose is to make a time journey in geological history. Many geotraverses can be created on a geotraverse. In other words, a geotraverse can represent an entire geotraverse, or it can be a certain stage or section of a geotraverse. The expression of Geotravers is geological, while the expression of Jeorota is geographical and includes/should include other geopark/geotourism elements other than geosites.

References

Arouca Declaration (2011) Available online:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q41gbd0cp2nt73o/Declaration_Arouca_%5BEN%5D.pdf?dl=0

Last Access: 04 Dec 2024

Ayazlar, R. A., 2018. Profiling Türkish Geotravelers Using the Geotraveler Tendency. Business and Org. Res. Int. Conference, Karabük, Turkey.

Boley, B., Nickerson, N., Bosak, K., (2011). Measuring Geotourism: The Geotraveler Tendency Scale (GTS). Journal of Travel Research. 50 (5): 567-578.

Hose, T.A., 2008. Towards a history of geotourism: Definitions, antecedents and the future. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ. 300, 37–60.

Hose, T., 1995. Selling the Story of Britain’s Stone. Environ. Interpret. 10, 16–17.

Stokes, A.M., Cook, S.D., Drew, D., 2003. Geotourism: The New Trend in Travel; Travel Industry America and National Geographic Traveler: Washington, DC, USA.

Newsome, D., Dowling, R.K., 2010. Setting an agenda for geotourism. In Geotourism: The Tourism of Geology and Landscape; Newsome, D., Dowling, R., Eds.; Goodfellow Publishers Limited: Oxford, UK, pp. 1–12.

Tilden, F. (1957). Interpreting our heritage: Principles and practices for visitor services in parks, museums, and historic places. (No Title).

Tilden, F. (2009). Interpreting our heritage. ReadHowYouWant. com.

https://wttc.org/ (several reports: Last Access: 04.Dec 2024)