Geotourism at the Natural Park of La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone (Catalonia, Spain): Impact, Viability, and Sustainability

Abstract

La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone is a suitable case study to analyze the impact and sustainability of geotourism on a protected volcanic field, as it has allowed the transformation of a poorly known territory into one of the best known and most visited geosites of Catalonia (Spain). The protection of this volcanic area represented the end of legal and illegal quarrying activities that significantly damaged most of its volcanoes, but also provided an opportunity to develop the zone for tourism. We compiled the available information from its establishment in 1982 as a natural park by the Catalan Government to the present day, in order to analyze the socio-economic impact of geotourism on this protected area and its surroundings. We paid attention to its evolution in terms of the number of visitors, the social and economic consequences that this type of tourism has had, and whether it is compatible with the conservation of natural assets, especially geological ones. We also studied the role that the co-management of the protected space by local administrations and private entities has had on its sustainability. The results obtained are relevant to visualizing the viability of geotourism in a protected area by combining the economic drive and the conservation of natural assets. Spaces such as La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone represent natural laboratories where we can observe the success of the application of environmentally friendly policies with a positive socioeconomic impact on geotourism.

Quarries: From Abandoned to Renewed Places

“…La Garrotxa Volcanic Park proved that using geo-conservation as a means for sustainable tourism is a beneficial strategy. If well managed, this strategy can bring economic and social gains to the area, not only in tourism but also in the global image of the territory [71].…”

Diversity of Volcanic Geoheritage in the Canary Islands, Spain

“…For example, in 2019 the islands received more than fourteen million tourists (Table 2), which has contributed to the disappearance of many of the volcanic features and processes in the islands coastlines, e.g., the aeolian sedimentary systems [93,94]. At the same time, signs of the exhaustion of this tourism model are highlighting the need to diversify the range of tourist leisure activities on offer in the Canary Islands, and volcanic geoheritage can undoubtedly contribute to this through geotourism or volcanic tourism [2,5,[12][13][14]39,59,92]. For example, we can visit the geotourism websites in Tenerife, and El Hierro and Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands Global UNESCO geoparks [95][96][97].…”

“…These determine both their special and significant natural [2] and cultural [1] attributes. The latter are linked to the resources that volcanoes offer to the societies that live around them: geothermal and geological resources, raw materials for commerce and industry, geotourism, fertile soils and others [11][12][13][14]. Therefore, it is increasingly necessary to take them into account when placing a value on geoheritage [4,5].…”

Geotourism

“…Planagumá & Marti [12] describe how the different measures implemented in the La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone, currently one of the most visited geosites in Catalonia, Spain, have contributed to sustainable geotourism. Their results show that scientific research that provides good knowledge of the natural values of the area, combined with the establishment of good training and education programs aimed at local populations and visitors in order to raise their awareness, make the greatest contribution to positive social and economic impact.…”