Development of geotourism in Poland and examples of geosites from the Catalogue of geotouristic objects in Poland

Geotourism is a branch of specialized tourism focused on objects of inanimate nature. Geotouristic object is a geological site, which, if properly developed and promoted, can become attractive for visitors and, thus, also for tourist industry as a base for preparation of a product available for customers of travel agencies. Geotouristic objects can be categorized using various criteria, e.g., geological and geomorphological features, scale, size, number and types of attractions, mode of development (S3omka & Kiciñska-Œwiderska, 2004). Geotourism aims to integrate Earth and environmental sciences with cultural and historical heritage. Such comprehensive knowledge is then offered to visitors in a variety of forms: from leaflets to extended guides and thematic books, commonly available also in electronic formats. In Poland geotourism has been initiated by opening of “Geotourism” course at the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environment Protection, AGH — University of Science and Technology in Cracow, in 1998 (S3omka, 2005). This initiative was a response to rapid expansion of tourist industry in Poland and in the world. In the next decade tourism may become one of the most important branch of world economy. Thus, there is a demand for specialists who gained an interdisciplinary education, which combines the relevant elements of natural sciences, human sciences and basic sciences together with perfect knowledge of two foreign languages (including English). Such education should facilitate the successful job-seeking efforts of graduates as they may well be employed in geology, environment protection or in tourist industry. Recently, education in geotourism and related specializations is run at several state and private universities in Poland. According to the principles, geotourism must educate specialists capable to satisfy new expectations of modern tourists who not only want to see the abiotic nature objects but demand more detailed, professional explanations, e.g., how, when and why a particular object was formed or how the particular raw-material was extracted and processed. In last years geotourism has been included into the statutory scientific activity of several universities and the Polish Geological Institute. Moreover, the Ministry of Environment has started to finance some geotouristic projects (catalogues, guides, maps, etc.). Another important aim of geotourism is the promotion of geology and the whole Earth sciences. Geology plays a crucial role in the development of civilization by providing basic knowledge on the origin and history of the Earth. Moreover, as an applied science, geology supports the industrialization by prospecting for and exploring various mineral resources and by contributing to their beneficiation but also provides knowledge and data critical for various applications, as e.g. land development, resource management, environment protection. Unfortunately, the public opinion usually underestimates the importance of geology. Apart from its recreational aspects, geotourism provides new opportunities in promotion of geology by a variety of educational programs directed to various groups of tourists including young generation. Promotion of geology requires the application of proper language and medial techniques, which will transform professional knowledge of specialists into information understandable to common tourists (non-professionals). Thus, the proper forms of transfer must be applied. “Classic” communication methods (papers, books, written guides, even CD and DVD data carriers) are recently replaced by electronic sources: on-line libraries, interactive datasets or guides, all accessible via the Internet. An example can be the web page www.geoturystyka.pl and its English version www.geotourismonline.com. However, mass appearance of electronic-based information brings serious risks, e.g., incidental or intentional spreading of false data. Therefore, there is a growing demand for trustful websites improving the education and promotion of Earth sciences.