News > National Geographic Director Urges Geotourism Focus
National Geographic Director Urges Geotourism Focus One of the principal authors of the Geotourism Charter, based on a concept where tourism is measured not by sheer numbers but by the benefits per visitor, has urged a celebration of the uniqueness of The Bahamas in its tourism offerings. In a presentation at The College of The Bahamas on Sustainability, Tourism and Development, Jonathan B. Tourtellot, Director of the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations and Geotourism Editor of the National Geographic Traveler, shared the benefits of this growing concept which many have come to believe is the new trend in travel. Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place - its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. And the charter, a set of principles to help drive the practice, is being adopted by many countries around the world. "Geotourism owes its roots to the idea of Ecotourism," explained Mr. Tourtellot during a town meeting at The College's Performing Arts Centre jointly sponsored with the United States Embassy. "The difference here is ecotourism by definition focuses on natural areas and it contains within it a terribly important idea and that is to manage tourism in a way so that there is an economic incentive to protect what tourists are coming in to see. It is not as easy as it sounds but failure to do that in the long term is both unsustainable and catastrophic." Geotourism incorporates elements like heritage, cultural, agri-, culinary tourism and sightseeing. "The Bahamas is one of the important destinations in the world by the nature of its character and the fact that the character still exists," Mr. Tourtellot added. He outlined three different styles of tourism: Touring, Rest & Recreation and Entertainment [R&R], each of which has a different relationship to the place where it occurs. The first is based primarily on experiential tourism and exploration which encourages interaction with the wider citizenry, culture and the tourists provide an economic benefit throughout the destination and support small businesses. R&R Tourism, Mr. Tourtellot said, depends on a physical niche as the main attraction and interaction with a destination's culture is optional, giving the example of a resort destination where the property is pretty much self-contained. He also explained that Entertainment Tourism capitalizes on a manufactured, self contained, industrial attraction that in some cases changes the nature and character of a destination. "Just look at Paradise Island which is half R&R and half Entertainment compared to what it was two decades ago. It does generate a lot of employment but it also has a big footprint, mass tourism and high traffic," he said. "The important thing about Entertainment Tourism is that if you are going to do it you should do it in a place where you can do the most good but cause the least harm." While at The College, Mr. Tourtellot also engaged college students during a Green Bag luncheon organized by The College's Small Island Sustainability Team. This Fall, The College launched its SIS baccalaureate degree programme offering concentrations in four distinctive areas: Integrated Sustainable Development Planning; Environmental & Ecosystems Management; Ecotourism & Development and Policy Studies. The programme aims to bring transformation by empowering change agents in order to fuel sustainable development.
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