The Geoheritage Potential of the South-East Pałuki (Western Poland) to Promote Geotourism

Abstract

The aim of the work is to examine the possibilities of developing geotourism in the context of existing, but not yet recognised, geoheritage in the north-eastern Wielkopolska, western Poland. Pałuki is characterised by exceptional geodiversity, which has enormous potential for diversifying the present tourist offer. The valorisation method of selected 12 geosites was used, taking into account geomorphological, additional and utility categories. The results of the analytical part made it possible to identify the most valuable and geotouristically attractive geosites. They form two original geotourism trails under the common name of "Geodiversified Pałuki". In order to increase the possibilities of developing local geotourism, two proposals for thematic geotourism trail focusing on the most interesting, and highly rated, geosites in the research area are presented.