Geoparks and Geotourism

This book aims to identify geotourism and geoparks as gateways to socio-cultural socio-environmental and socio-economic sustainability in rural areas. At present geotourism is a new movement helping travelers to increase their knowledge about natural resources the cultural identities of host communities and ways of preserving them. The 'emerging tourism' niche of geotourism is still at an early stage of commercial development in most countries and geoparks as a sustainable development model for protected areas are pioneers in the development of geotourism marketing. The establishment of the European Geoparks Network and the Global Geoparks Network are positive steps toward the preservation and presentation of geo-heritage as a new tourist attraction.Geoparks and Geotourism provides an opportunity for students professionals and authorities of geoparks to take advantage of emerging techniques to create new products facilities services technologies and management practices for geoparks in the future. Consequently the book is a paradigm for geoparks who want to come under the umbrella of the Global Geoparks Network. The numerous examples provided of geoparks currently attracting travelers may contribute to the creation of innovative strategies for sustainability and geoconservation in rural areas around the world.