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Geomorphosites and Geotourism

Laura Comănescu and Florina Grecu, University of Bucharest

Geotourism is a sustainable form of tourism aiming at offering tourist products that may help people
to understand the geological and geomorphological features of a particular place, as well as the
significance and value of geosites and geomorphosites. Likewise, it makes the tourists aware of the
necessity to protect these nature-based items, convincing them often to take actions in this respect.
On the other hand, geotourism must also be seen as an important financial source for supporting
both the protection of geomorphosites and the socio-economic development of the tourist areas.
Thus, the local population must see the geological and geomorphological heritage as a cultural,
educational and scientific asset.
The most important activity in geotourism is interpretation. Its purpose is to convince the tourists of
the value of the respective place in order to come back, to preserve the place and to derive
supplementary satisfaction from tourist activities. The typology of the tourists for whom
interpretation is tailored is very important. Geomorphosite interpretation must take into account the
following aspects: the strong visual impact; the fact that tourists have different knowledge,
experience and vocabulary in comparison with specialists; the fact that interactive presentation is
more efficient in delivering the message; the fact that the provided information is difficult to
understand, which is the reason why communication has to rely on the models, knowledge and
objects that are familiar to the visitor. In order to come up with a correct interpretation one needs to
make a plan by taking into account the message that must be delivered to the tourists, the particular
field conditions, the existing facilities, as well as other natural and anthropogenic elements.
If the local authorities want to capitalize the geomorphosites for tourist purposes, they will need to
create geotourist itineraries encompassing as many geosites and geomorphosites as possible and
other elements of interest, itineraries that should have a certain topic and a specific brand.

1. Theoretical background
Geotourism is that form of tourism that turns to account the geosites/geomorphosites, thus allowing
the tourist to discover and understand them (by interpretation facilities and the services offered). At
the same time, it brings its contribution to the promotion of the geological/geomorphological value
of these sites, as well as to their preservation.
Stueve and Cook (2002), relying on information provided by the National Geographic Traveler, claim
that geotourism is a field having many similarities with the nature-based tourism.
Hose (2005, quoted by A. Andrăşanu, 2008) defines geotourism as “a form of cultural-environmental
tourism that can be developed in areas with important geological monuments, which are exploited in
order to attract visitors with special interests”. In 1996, the same author mentioned the features and
objectives that give a particular aspect to geotourism: “the provision of interpretive and service
facilities to enable tourists to acquire knowledge and understanding of the geology and
geomorphology of a site beyond the level of mere aesthetic appreciation”.
Newson and Dowling (2006) deem that geo stands for the geological, geomorphological and
landscape aspects, while tourism implies the visiting of the sites for recreational purposes and for
discovering remarkable elements. They include geotourism in the larger field of nature-based
tourism giving it individuality by including in it the geological and geomorphological forms and
processes that are turned to account by a specific type of tourism (Table 1). Consequently,
geotouristic activity must be organized and guided either at individual level or in small groups (Fig. 1).
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Geotourism has developed simultaneously with the evolution of geoconservation, namely the
emergence of geoparks, and with the introduction in the tourist activity of the geosites and
geomorphosites on the basis of sustainable development principles. This type of tourism is
sustainable, inasmuch as it turns to account the primary and inexhaustible resources of the
environment. At the same time, it is focused on a small number of people (unlike mass tourism),
which explains why the impact on the environment is much lower.
A broader approach, sustained by the National Geographic Society, defines geotourism as a type of
tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place and which attracts many
tourists without disturbing the environment and without causing imbalance phenomena (National
Geographic, s.d.).

Table 1. Synthesis of the nature and purpose of geotourism (according to Newsome and Dowling, 2006 and
Andrăşanu, 2008, with alterations)

LANDFORMS PROCESSES TOURIST ACTIVITIES

Landscapes Tectonic activities Tourist attractions

Landforms (volcanic, glacial, stream, wind, Volcanism Infrastructure for accommodation,
karst and beach landforms) – Erosion food and recreation (including the
Geomorphosites georesort-type facilities)
Sedimentation
Sediments and sedimentation Geotourist itineraries
environments Denudation
Guided tours by gliders, vehicles,
Rocks/Outcrops Gravitational processes and bikes
Fossils Visiting centers
Coastal areas Virtual tours
Minerals Improvement and management
activities

Fig. 1. Conceptual models of geotourism (Newsome and Dowling, 2006)
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One of the major goals of geotourism is to communicate to the general public knowledge pertaining
to geoscience field, including information about the geomorphosites: genesis, value, protection,
management and use.

2. Interpretation – key of geotourism
Interpretation is a specialized form of communication by which a connection is made between people
and the places they visit; on the other hand, this is also a type of non-formal education (Andrășanu,
2008). Thus, interpretation can take one of the forms below:
- Personal interpretation (guided tours);
- Non-personal interpretation (publications, leaflets, visiting centers, itineraries,
interpretation panels, documentary movies);
- Interpretation by art (painting, carving, literary works);
- Interpretation by media (audiotrails, travel guides that may be downloaded from the
internet, web pages).
In order to interpret the geomorphosites one has to correlate the information from several fields of
knowledge, namely geology, geography, design, tourism and management, which eventually will
establish a connection among tourism, geosciences, education and research activities (Andrășanu,
2008).

The basic principles (Tilden, 1977) for interpreting the natural elements are the following:
- Every interpretation that fails to use in the interpretation of the object or phenomenon
something that is connected to the visitor’s experience is sterile;
- Every interpretation contains information;
- The major goal of the interpretation is not to teach people, but to challenge them to learn;
- Interpretation must present the whole, not the individual parts;
- Interpretation meant for children must be something different, not a simplified version of
the information provided to adults.

The type of information used for the interpretation of geosites or geomorphosites is an element of
interest that differs depending on the type of visitor. Hence, it is very important to get to know the
portrait of the tourist practicing geotourism.
According to previous studies (Hose, 2006; Andrășanu, 2008), the most frequent types of tourists
that visit the geosites/geomorphosites are the following:
- Most people come by chance;
- Usually, these tourists have knowledge above average and the capacity to understand
particular processes and phenomena;
- Most of them are not aware of the importance of geosites/geomorphosites and are only
partly aware of the necessity to preserve them as they are;
- Most tourists are adults, older than 30 years, and are accompanied by children who have
reached the school age;
- One of the motivations for geotourism is the need to educate the children;
- Some people are disposed to pay a small amount of money;
- People spend money for various souvenirs, equipment and leaflets, but they expect that all
these are free or cheap.
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3. Making a plan for the interpretation of geomorphosites

A plan for the interpretation of geomorphosites must take into account the message that is intended
to be delivered to tourists, the particular conditions in the field, the existing infrastructure, the
relationship with other natural or anthropogenic elements, and the visiting conditions (weather,
length of daylight). It must necessarily encompass the following elements:
- Location and description;
- Identification in the field of the elements that may be correlated with the geomorphosite
and the delimitation of its extension;
- The topic of the geomorphosite;
- Goal and objectives of interpretation – choosing the communication method according to
the target audience;
- The objectives of the interpretation plan aim at the following: interpretation management,
financial management and marketing;
- The action plan that encompasses the types of materials, the costs and the subsequent
monitoring.

Martin et al. (2010) proposed a method to help the creation of geotourist products. The geotourist
product should take into account four main elements (Fig. 2): (1) the targeted public; (2) the content
(scientific content, and form of the content); (3) the support (which medium?); (4) the site itself (the
communication must be linked to the sites).

Fig. 2. The four domains to take into account when preparing a geotourism product (From Martin et al., 2010,
modified)

Frey et al. (2006) made a synthesis regarding the creation and implementation of an interpretation
plan for the Vulkaneifel Geopark in Germany, in which they identified the following communication
components: general public, specialists, economy, media and society (Table 2).

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Table 2. The interpretation fields of geomorphosites and the targeted activities (Frey et al., 2006, modified)

Communication components Activity / Tools

Information (panels, leaflets) and education (trips organized with pupils and
General public
students, scientific and popularization seminars)
Specialists identify the knowledge that may be adapted and transferred to the
Scientific field
geotourist activity
Companies bring their contribution in promoting the geosciences by tourism,
Economy
which will generate additional revenues
Ensures promotion of geotourist products in the media (newspapers, radio,
Media
television)
Facilitates the creation of a proper environment for geomorphosite
Society
conservation through the activities undertaken by the local communities

When designing the plans for geomorphosite interpretation one has to take into account the fact
that people have different learning skills. Thus, several communication methods can be mobilised,
for example visual, auditory, kinesthetic or emotional communication (Andrășanu, 2008).

4. Geotourist itineraries
Geotourist activities may take several forms, for example land and water vehicle tours, flights, hiking
and the exploration of belvedere points. In order that this activity becomes more efficient it is
necessary to create geotourist itineraries that should provide access to as many
geosites/geomorphosites as possible, as well as to other natural and anthropogenic attractions. All
these have to meet a number of conditions:
- To have a well-defined topic, capable of attracting different kinds of tourists;
- To benefit from an appropriate interpretation;
- To have average slopes, free of or with very few difficult segments;
- To be properly arranged (including appropriate panels);
- To offer belvedere points.

Examples of geotourist itineraries in Romania have been described by Comănescu et al., (2013):
- The Babele Challet – Heroes’ Monument - difference of level of 80 m, easy, access all year
round. The path is well traced and it represents the main access way towards the Heroes’
Monument. The path crosses a series of torrents from the basin of origin of Jepii Mici,
which can constitute a risk element for the touristic element in the periods with heavy or
long rains.
- The Babele Challet – The Caraiman Challet - difference of level of 200 m, easy as difficulty
(it may present certain risks in the periods with dense fog), accessibility all year round. The
path is an access way towards the Prahova abrupt, the challet and the waterfall Caraiman.
The path continuously and steadily descends along the Jepii Mici torrent (crossing a crest
developed on conglomerates).
- The Caraiman Challet – Heroes’ Monument - difference of level of 250 m, high difficulty
(especially in in the periods with fog and heavy rains). The path unfolds along a structural
bench, being hard to cross in the parts where it intercrosses torrential organisms which can
be covered by snow.
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