10 anos da pesquisa em geoturismo no Brasil: balanços e perspectivas

Abstract

Geotourism is an extremely new niche segment of tourism which aims to appreciate, disseminating and exploiting the geoheritage, including its geological form and processes, both urban and rural environments. Its definition dates back to 1995, having spread rapidly around the world, reaching Brazil, only in the mid-2000s. All publications about geotourism were examined in their broader aspects, in the annals of events and specialized journals of Geology, Geography and Tourism, as well as doctoral thesis and master dissertations. One can divide the history of the theme 'geotourism' in Brazil in three stages: until 2004, when this issue was scattered in other areas of geoknowledge; with the XLI CBG, in Araxá (MG, 2004), publications become incipient in national journals and events; the landmark increase publications and research date back to 2007- 2008, with the creation of a website, with the publication of a book and the defense of a doctoral thesis. In addition, the geographical distribution of membership was analyzed, per Federation Units, the authors of abstracts of CBGs and geoBRheritages in order to draw hypotheses to explain this distribution, monopolized by the Southeast region, plus Paraná, responsible for 55% of the publications in these events. The subject of the abstracts were geotourism in natural/ rural areas.