Canyons and gorges as potential geotourism destinations inSerbia: comparative analysis from two perspectives – generalgeotourists’ and pure geotourists’

Abstract

Serbia represents one of those countries whichhave not yet di erentiated themselves on the world tourism map. However, it has an immense but still unrevealed potential for geotourism development. In this paper we analyzed several remarkable canyons and gorges of great scienti c importance and geotourism potential. These sites include the Djerdap Gorge and Lazar River Canyon, located in Eastern Serbia and the Ovčar-Kablar Gorge and Uvac Canyon located in Western Serbia. One of the main goals of this paper was to analyze and compare the current state and tourism potential of these geosites by using the M-GAM model for geosite assessment. However, the principal aim of the paper is to analyze how important is each subindicator in the assessment process for di erent market segments. In this paper, we also analyzed how giving di erent importance to subindicators can in uence the position of the geosites in the matrix indicating different assessment done by two chosen market segments. The research showed that general geotourists appreciate considerably di erent values when assessing a geosite in comparison to pure geotourists. The paper can be used as framework for developing the tourism management strategy of geosites taking into consideration the needs and preferences of the target market segments.

Geoheritage and geotourism potential of the Homolje area (eastern Serbia)

“…When it comes to geotourism development in other parts of Eastern Serbia similar problems also occur. Extensive research of geotourism potential in other areas of Eastern Serbia has been done by several other researchers (Tomić, 2011;Tomić & Božić, 2014;Marković et al, 2014;Božić et al, 2014;Božić & Tomić, 2015; and the existing problems are almost always pretty much the same in every case.…”

Terroir of the Tri Morave wine region (Serbia) as a basis for producing wines with geographical indication

“…This form of tourism represents a good way of combating the effects of rural restructuring (Hall, Mitchell, 2000; which is present in many vineyard regions throughout the world as well as in parts of Serbia. Parallel with the development of this form of tourism, other complementary specific forms of tourism activities based on the evaluation of geographical space and cultural potentials can also be developed (Tomić, 2011;Solarska et al, 2013;Tomić, Božić, 2014;Marković et al, 2014;Boškov et al, 2015;Božić, Tomić, 2015;Tomić et al, 2015).…”

“Urban geosites” as an alternative geotourism destination - evidence from Belgrade

“…The importance factor can be a very useful examination tool because it gives visitors the chance to express their attitude to every single sub-indicator in the model [11]. Moreover, in the case of Belgrade geosites, the importance factor has emphasized the relevance of visitors having an opportunity to choose which city's non-cultural attractions they are going to visit and their attitudes thereto [35,36].…”

“…Therefore, geoheritage has become an important part of tourism offer in many regions and countries, especially those which have not yet solidified their positions in the tourism market. Visitors are becoming more sophisticated in selecting geotourism destinations they want to visit [11].…”

“…Given that the importance of geodiversity on the territory of Belgrade has completely been minimized and neglected in relation to biodiversity, the aim of this study is to carry out a quantitative and qualitative analysis of geoheritage sites and as- sessment of their values to promote the development of geotourism as a complementary part of tourism offer in Belgrade. It is important to note that geoheritage sites, as specially adapted locations, may contribute to sustainable development of the area both in economic and environmental terms and that as such, they can successfully be positioned in the tourism market [11].…”