Geotourism as a globally growing phenomenon is based on several principles where sustainability plays a key role. The value of an individual site of visitors' interest (geosite, geomorphosite, or site of geological heritage-a primary point of interest in geotourism) may be expressed via specific assessment methods. However, recent geosite assessment methods are primarily focused on various aspects of geoheritage (e.g., location, scientific value, representativeness, etc.) and very low attention is paid to the majority of geotourism participants-people for whom the various geotourism products are introduced and offered. The geotourism development itself would not be possible without interest of tourists (visitors) in such places. Without the knowledge of relevant visitor data incorporated within the assessment, as discussed in this paper, such values, representing the result of the geosite assessment process, cannot be effectively utilized to help future geosite development and management activities related to overall (geo)tourism progress.
Slovakia is renowned for its remarkable and rare natural beauty, abundant in natural resources with several noteworthy geological features. However, the protection of nature has primarily been understood as the protection of biodiversity in Slovakia. For the conservation of geological diversity and landforms, very little has been done. Geoconservation or the protection of geodiversity is being applied to specific places known as geosites, where significant earth elements (geological, paleontological, geomorphological, hydrological and pedological) are protected, preserved and managed. Most geosites benefit from existing protected areas. Their protection is random and does not result from the recognition of their values. As discussed in the paper, geotourism related activities can undoubtedly contribute to promoting the protection of geosites in protected areas. Besides, through a geotourism approach, geodiversity can obtain public attention and positively influence the state of protected areas by its activities. Such initiatives not only can improve the protection of geological sites but also can play a crucial role in sustainable tourism development.
The impact of tourism on quality of life standards in regions is significant in terms of people, planet, and profit. This paper examines the subnational NUTS 2 level regions, (in line with Eurostat) by applying several interlinked and connected indicators. Adopting the three Ps (people, planet, profit) of the Sustainability Services Marketing Mix, this article discusses the fusion of 54 regions of Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Romania, and Bulgaria) into clusters according to the selected accommodation tourism indicators used by the European Statistical Agency (Eurostat) to evaluate tourism. Since many variables of the Prague region significantly exceed the values of the remaining regions, this region has been considered as an individual cluster, excluded from the cluster analysis. The cluster analysis resulted in the definition of six clusters consisting of regions with similar indicators’ statistics characteristics. The presented approach changes the traditional approach to clusters in tourism and provokes thinking about new criteria of clustering and solutions in the field of tourism, especially when considering future cooperation, competitiveness, and sustainable development.
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