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Tourism Geographies: AnInternational Journal ofTourism Space, Place andEnvironmentPublication details, including instructionsfor authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtxg20

Geotourism and whatgeographers doAlan A. LewPublished online: 05 Nov 2010.

To cite this article: Alan A. Lew (2002) Geotourism and what geographersdo, Tourism Geographies: An International Journal of Tourism Space, Placeand Environment, 4:4, 347-348, DOI: 10.1080/14616680210158119

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616680210158119

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Editorial:geotourism and what geographers do

Last April, 2001, the National Geographic Society (NGS) and the TravelIndustry Association of America (TIA) released The Geotourism Study onTIA’s website (http://www..xxxx ). This was essentially a market segmen-tation of US travellers. For me, the most exciting part of the report wasthe de�nition of geotourism as being concerned

with preserving a destination’s geographic character – the entire combina-tion of natural and human attributes that make one place distinct fromanother. Geotourism encompasses both cultural and environmental concernsregarding travel, as well as the local impact tourism has upon communitiesand their individual economics and lifestyles.

This de�nition was juxtaposed with the concept of ‘sustainable tourism’,which was viewed as being narrower in scope. As a geography ‘booster’,I �nd the concept of geotourism very appealing. This is what I try toconvey to my students every semester in my regional geography classes;this is what has driven most of my personal travel interests; this is whatsparked my interests to become a professional geographer – the desire tounderstand and appreciate better the entire combination of natural andhuman attributes that make one place or region distinct from another.This is also why geographers tend to have a natural af�nity towardtourism, a topic which I have touched upon in previous editorials, andwhy it is always such a pleasure for me to put together each issue ofTourism Geographies.

In this issue, Angel Paniagua opens with an assessment of the role ofcounter-urbanization in urban–rural migration in Spain, where much of thistype of migration tends to be among tourism industry entrepreneurs. Thisis followed by two articles that focus on motivations and experiences ofvisitors to nature attractions in rural areas. Agnes Nowaczek and DavidFennell compare ecotourists and mass tourists in Poland, while KellyBricker and Deborah Kerstetter examine place attachment among white-water recreationists in the US. These researchers show a considerable rangein the way people approach tourism and recreation opportunities in nature,and give some insight into the complexities of the ‘nature experience’.

Tourism Geographies ISSN 1461–6688 print/ISSN 1470-1340 online © 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltdhttp://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

DOI: 10.1080/14616680210158119

Tourism Geographies 4(4), 2002, 347–348

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Kelly and Deborah’s article is also the �rst of three articles that offera special focus on Tourism and Water. From the river experience, DamianMorgan takes us to the sea with his study of the role that a coastal piercan play in creating a sense of identity and place. And in our ‘Environment’section, Brian Hudson discusses the implication of variations in the �owover waterfalls on the tourist experience of this type of attraction. Thesethree articles offer an insight into the deep symbolic, spiritual andgeographical signi�cance that water holds for people and societies.

I also want to mention a new feature in our ‘Discussion forum’ section.Starting with this issue, we are publishing recent tourism geography-relatedPhD abstracts. We have several in this �rst round, from various parts ofthe world. PhD students undertake a lot of fascinating and cutting-edgeresearch, and we are pleased to be able to highlight their efforts in TourismGeographies. Through the range of articles, book reviews, associationnews and student abstracts, Tourism Geographies presents a geographicalperspective on the tourism phenomenon. This is what geographers do.This is geotourism.

Alan A. LewEditor-in-chief

Flagstaff, AZ, USA

348 Editor ial

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