Geoparks and Geotourism in China: A Sustainable Approach to Geoheritage Conservation and Local Development—A Review

Abstract

Geoparks and geotourism are relatively new activities within tourism. However, both have grown rapidly over the past decade. Geoparks, as an innovation for the conservation of geoheritage, play an important role in the development of geotourism. Geotourism has evolved partially in response to the need to minimize the negative impacts of mass tourism in geologically and geographically sensitive and/or im-portant areas situated in tourist environments, while at the same time providing a catalyst for sustainable rural development. China, with its vast territory and complex geological and geomorphic features, is often referred to as an open laboratory in geosciences and has 289 national geoparks and 41 UNESCO global geoparks so far. Currently, it is a leading country in the world in establishing and maintaining geoparks. This paper reviews the geoparks initiatives in China, as well as attempts to assess the compatibility of geoconservation and rural development within geotourism areas by exploring the challenges and outcomes of the geotourism development in China and by identifying and analysing the outcomes of geopark development. The results indicate a geopark is a sustainable approach to advancing geoconservation and promoting local economic development. The results further emphasize the importance of sustainable management in geotourism. Only when managed in a sustainable manner is geotourism likely to provide long-term improvements for developments in rural areas. Implications for geopark management and geotourism development are discussed.

Geosite Assessment and Communication: A Review

“…Another key concept is geoheritage, which needs to be evaluated [6], managed [7], subjected to conservation [8][9][10][11][12][13][14], valorized through geoparks [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24], and be the focus of geotourism [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35], geoscience museums [36][37][38][39], and mapping [40,41]. Preserving geoheritage means safeguarding the natural diversity of major geomorphological and geological elements, i.e., geoheritage sites, also known as geosites.…”

How Can Tufa Deposits Contribute to the Geotourism Offer? The Outcomes from the First UNESCO Global Geopark in Serbia

“…Geotourism represents a special market niche of the travel industry motivated by the visits to the geoheritage sites (geosites). A fast development of this aspect of tourism is noticeable in many locations throughout the world; therefore, the literature reported on numerous examples of sustainable development and the significance of geotourism in the areas where it is present [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Moreover, the development of geotourism should aim to minimize the negative consequences of mass tourism at destinations based on geological and geomorphological attractions.…”

“…Moreover, the development of geotourism should aim to minimize the negative consequences of mass tourism at destinations based on geological and geomorphological attractions. Its main mission is to support sustainable tourism and preserve the environment [9,13]. One of the most comprehensive definitions of geotourism from the environment and economic perspectives has been defined by Dowling [14].…”

Geoturism and Its Sustainable Products in Destination Management

“…Németh (2023) examines volcanoes as an object of interest of geotourists, while Tiago et al (2021), mentions volcano tourism as a specific part of geotourism. The attention of a significant part of the literature is devoted to geotourism within the problematic of national parks (Matsuha et al, 2021), Xi and Wu (2022) pay attention to geoparks as an innovative protection of geoheritage and an important element in the development of geotourism. Their research results demonstrate that the geopark is an example of a sustainable approach to advancing earth protection and point to the fact that it can support local economic development.…”