Abstract
Geotourism is a relatively new type of tourism with significant growth potential. Initially defined in Europe, USA and Australia, it is an international developing academic, economic and sustainable rural development investigation field. The term geotourism has been in use since the early 1990s, although its precursor activities can be traced back to the 17th century. Benefiting from its significant social, historical and industrial archaeological underpinnings, the concept is still undergoing redefinition and refinement. This paper explores current literature on geotourism and geoparks in relation to sustainable development in Africa. Furthermore, it explores current literature on the direct and indirect sustainable development impacts from geotourism and geoparks, and their implications on social, environmental and economic development on rural communities. The literature has shown that these concepts, relatively new in Africa, present essential credentials for poverty alleviation and sustainable rural development on the continent.
Résumé
Le géotourisme est un type de tourisme relativement nouveau avec un potentiel de croissance significatif. Initialement développé et défini en Europe, aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique et en Australie, c’est un domaine de recherche, académique, économique, et de développement rural durable, en développement. Le terme géotourisme est utilisé depuis le début des années 1990, bien que ses activités précurseurs remontent au 17ème siècle. Bénéficiant de ses fondements sociaux, historiques et archéologiques industriels significatifs, ce concept est encore en cours de redéfinition. Cet article explore la littérature actuelle sur le géotourisme et les géoparcs et leurs impacts sur le développement social, environnemental et économique des communautés rurales. Il montre que ces concepts, relativement nouveaux en Afrique, présenteraient des atouts essentiels pour le développement rural durable et la réduction de la pauvreté sur le continent.
ملخص
الجيوسياحة هي نوع من السياحة جديدٌ نسبيا، بإمكانات نمو كبيرة. تم أولا التعريف بها وتطويرها بأوروبا، الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية و أستراليا، وهي مجال، في طور النمو، للبحث الأكاديمي، الاقتصادي والتنمية القروية المستدامة. لقد استخدمت كلمة جيوسياحة منذ مطلع سنة 1990، على الرغم من أن أنشطتها الرائدة تعود إلى القرن السابع عشر. مستفيدة من أسسها الاجتماعية،التاريخية وآثارها الصناعية الهامة، فإن هذا المفهوم لا يزال قَيْدَ إعادة التعريف.هذا المقال يستطلع المؤلفات الحالية حول الجيوسياحة والجيومنتزهات وآثارها على التنمية الاجتماعية، البيئية والاقتصادية للمجتمعات القروية. فهو يظهر بأن هذه المفاهيم، الجديدة نسبيا بإفريقيا، ستقدم مؤهلات أساسية للتنمية القروية المستدامة والتخفيف من الفقر بالقارة.
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Ngwira, P.M. (2015). Geotourism and Geoparks: Africa’s Current Prospects for Sustainable Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation. In: Errami, E., Brocx, M., Semeniuk, V. (eds) From Geoheritage to Geoparks. Geoheritage, Geoparks and Geotourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10708-0_2
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