Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan.

Photo © John Scofield

Encourage community participation to discover a region's distinct tourism assets. The geotourism methods first focus is on building strong community alliances. By bring together those individuals and organizations that are most familiar with the unique environmental, cultural, historical, and scenic assets of a destination, all facets can contribute to effectively telling the story of the place.

Community participation will support the character of place and reflect tourism that is respectful of it environment, culture, heritage, aestetic and of the people who live there. Using National Geographic methodologies, the local Geotourism Stewardship Council, made up of community members, private businesses, and the government, solicit nominations for the sites that best present the area's character and heritage. We then work with local partners to create and implement a Geotourism MapGuide that clearly conveys the destination's unique attributes to local residents and foreign visitors alike.

Throughout the process, National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destiantions provides technical assistance to the Geotourism Stewardship Council, helping them identify ways to reap the benefits of geotourism for their communities. CSD can also be employed to identify social, economic, environmental, and cultural indicators that can serve as metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the ongoing geotourism strategy.

Geotourism can produce many benefits for local communities. The geotourism destinations and the surrounding areas can enjoy an immediate increase in their national and international visibility, in accordance with the types of geotourism tools chosen and the ways in which they are distributed within and outside of the community. The entire community stands to benefit from this strategic approach to manage its burgeoning tourism industry and maintain the quality of life, cultural heritage and environmental qualities that are driving growth and economic diversification. Community stakeholders gain a better understanding of, and appreciation for, their unique environmental, cultural, historical, and scenic assets, as well as the importance of protecting and conserving those assets.

As the local economy improves, they have an economic incentive for stewarding the area as a geotourism destination, avoiding many of the negative impacts that plague many other tourist destinations and ensuring that local geotourism assets are protected for future generations of both visitors and residents.