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- Joining geotourism with cultural tourism: a good blendPublication . Rosendahl, Stefan; Marçal Gonçalves, MartaThe Algarvian coast (Southern Portugal) is known for its beaches. However, many tourists don’t want to spend their whole holidays only at the beach, so cultural tourism can fill a gap together with natural tourism. Important branches of natural tourism of Algarve are birdwatching and guided tours, which may include visits to geologically interesting sites (Geotourism). These activities are aimed to people with sporting and scientific interests. Algarve has a big potential for Geotourism due to the large number of geologically interesting places and areas. Geotouristic activities joined with the observation or visit of cultural, mainly vernacular subjects (for instance: terraces and cultural landscapes, agricultural and ethnological traditions, villages) result in a more complete touristic offer than each part isolated and can be done all over the year. The creation of a Geopark by UNESCO, for instance, includes both natural and cultural heritage. Like the cultural heritage, the geological heritage should be valorized by tracking paths for hiking with information tables, guided visits, folders and so on, to be disseminated by the tourist information offices, apps, new technologies, hotels and other touristic installations. When touristic activities lead to a better knowledge of the natural and cultural sites, their conservation may be easier, because the local residents are getting conscious about their value. Regular visits of the sites are used to control their condition. Thus, Geotourism and cultural tourism contribute to the preservation of the geological heritage and the landscape, which is also an environmental and cultural heritage.
- Georiddles, brainstorming and creativity in natural and cultural tourismPublication . Rosendahl, Stefan; Marçal Gonçalves, MartaMany tourists don’t want to spend their holidays only at the beach and others arrive to their destination for cultural or natural reasons. Some are attracted by creative activities. An upcoming touristic branch which joins cultural and natural tourism is Geotourism. A “georiddle” may increase the visitor’s interest in geological and cultural themes and challenge his creativity. The following methodology is adopted to reach these objectives: The guide gives basic information in a geologically interesting site and asks the participants about details of what can be seen. By brainstorming and discussion, they may solve the problem or not; in any case the participants are encouraged to foster their creativity by interactive processes. Then, the guide explains his opinion about the solution of the “georiddle”, and the discussion can begin again. Enigmatic structures may be found in construction stones of built heritage, as well as in geological outcrops in the countryside. A “georiddle” can be posed in other fields, like vernacular cultural heritage. For instance, drystone constructions are interfaces between geological and cultural heritage. Here, the riddle’s aim may be to discuss about the reason of their spatial arrangement and purpose. As a result, it is expected to awaken the visitor’s curiosity and creativity and to increase and broaden his field of knowledge.
- When urban geology meets cultural tourismPublication . Rosendahl, Stefan; Marçal Gonçalves, MartaThe region of Algarve (Southern Portugal) has a rich geological history, whose testimonies are the different rock types, their structures and the fossils. These can be found not only in the countryside, in quarrels or in the cliffs, but also in the towns, in the building-stones of monuments, other edifices or pavements. The state and the way of weathering of the stones informs about their exposition and durability. By observing the stones, they can tell us about their origin and age. Joining this history with the history of the buildings and their art, and knowing (or presuming) the local of the provenience of the building material, it is possible to get a more complete image of the whole context, including, for instance, the transport possibilities. If there are any “exotic” stones, that is to say stones whose origin was far from the visited site, we may take conclusions about trading connections in the country or even overseas. The inclusion of Urban Geology in the usual paths of cultural tourism will enrich the touristic offer of a town. It is aimed to people with historical and scientific interest and can be participated by persons with reduced mobility. The stones and eventually the fossils can be observed in the town during the whole year, at any weather, without the need of pollutant cross-country vehicles or long and exhausting walking-tours. Therefore, Urban Geology is a very interesting complement of the Cultural Tourism in the Algarvian towns.
- Crossing heritages: drystone walls in cultural tourism and geo-tourismPublication . Rosendahl, Stefan; Mallafrè Balsells, Cèlia; Marçal Gonçalves, MartaThe aim of cultural tourism is the cultural heritage. This heritage can consist of monuments in cities, for instance, and also of vernacular heritage which is found in rural areas. The drystone walls, often existing in regions where slopes prevail, are splendid examples of this group of heritage. Their role in cultural vernacular heritage is that they are made by man to make agriculture possible in difficult terrain creating plane areas in slopes, to retain surface and subsurface water as a reserve e.g. for the plantation and protection against wildfires, to protect agricultural areas in lower places against falling rocks and erosion by torrents, and so on. On the other hand, they also belong to the natural geological heritage because they are made of local stones, the geological setting of an area determines if such a wall is necessary or not, they interfere with the surface and subsurface water flows, they slow down erosional processes, they mould typical landscapes, and they create a lot of ecological niches and habitats for animals and plants. Therefore, drystone walls represent a link between cultural-vernacular and natural-geological heritage. Stone wall terraces are an expression of the history and the culture of the local people and present environmental, social and economic benefits. They may offer touristic opportunities, contributing to their renewal and survival. Their cultural value was recognized by the UNESCO in 2018 by the declaration of the “art of drystone walling, knowledge and techniques” as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.