by Dr Young Ng, Geotourism Workshop, Global Eco 2015

1. Geoparks: A global approach to promote
sustainable tourism for local communities
Global Eco Asia Pacific Conference 2015
Rottnest Island, WA
17-19 November, 2015
Expanding Ecotourism Horizons
Dr Young Ng
Association for Geoconservation, Hong Kong
Copyright reserved Young Ng 2015

2. Outline
1. Geopark: concept & principles
2. Social benefits
3. Economic benefits
4. Cases in China
5. Conclusions

3. 1. Geopark: concept and principles

4. 4 spheres of Planet Earth & environment
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
(sea, rivers, underground water)
Biosphere
(plants, animals)
Lithosphere
(land, rocks, soils)
• Least known
• Least protected
• Stories untold

5. UN’s protection
programmes and
initiatives
• Man & Biosphere
(651 sites in 120 countries)
• World Heritage
Listing
(1031 sites in 163 countries)
• Global Geoparks
Network
(120 sites in 33 countries)
(Sources: UNESCO’s MB, WH, GGN 2015)

6. • Geopark: ‘an area with particular geological heritage
with international significance but also with a
sustainable development plan or strategy involving
local communities’. (McKeever 2015)
• A holistic approach to manage and protect geological heritage
with the consideration of their interaction with the biological
and cultural environment, particularly the livelihood of the
people living within or near them.

7. Geopark’s objectives & mission
Sustainable
development
Conservation
Education

8. All these factors generate
geotourism and ecotourism opportunities
Education
Conservation
Sustainable
development
Community
engagement
Networking

9. Ecotourism and geotourism
Ecotourism:
‘Ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on
experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and
cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation’. (EA
2015)
Geotourism:
‘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’ (National
Geographic 1997)
‘Tourism which focuses on geology and landscape as the
basis for providing visitor engagement, learning, and
enjoyment’.
(GSA 2015)

10. Nature-based &
cultural tourism
Geology & landscape
Culture/
history
Ecology
Other environmental
components
(Ecotourism)
(Cultural tourism)
(Geotourism)

11. Principles of geotourism
• Geology as a basis
• Experiences enjoyment, learning Sustainable manners
of enjoying, learning and engaging experiences
• Raises awareness, interest, appreciation, understanding
of geoheritage and geoconservation
• Communicates geosciences with understanding geology
through effective interpretation and story-telling skills
• Fosters sustainable tourism and local development
• Takes place in anywhere, any season and at anytime
• Geopark and mining parks are ideal venues for
geotourism activities

12. Geotourism & Geopark
• Geopark branding = quality assurance
• Regular national and international
quality monitoring of the site and its
services
• Geopark: ideal platform for geotourism
Tranquil environment
Outstanding and attractive scenery
Internationally significant geological and
geomorphological features with good
interpretation
World class management and services
Superb facilities and reasonable accessibility
Excellent safety and security measures

13. 2. Social benefits

14. • Revives deprived areas, towns and
villages
• Engages local communities
• Preserves local culture
• Establishes strong local, national,
regional and international networks
• Creates strong sense of place and
identity
• Develops sense of pride and belonging

15. 3. Economic benefits

16. Economic benefits to local communities
• Geoparks driven by geotourism
• Encourages investments
• Generates businesses
• Creates jobs
• Improves livelihood

17. 4. Chinese cases

18. 0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
2004 2005 2006 2007
Huangshan
Lushan
Stone Forest
Wudalianchi
Danxiashan
Yandangshan
Ningde
Hexigten
S
L
H
Y
W
D
N
H
Number of tourists
before (2004) and after (2007) the
establishment of geoparks
(in million)
(Source: CGN 2014)
Case 1
Performance of 8
geoparks in their
first 4 years

19. 0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2004 2005 2006 2007
Huangshan
Lushan
Stone Forest
Wudalianchi
Danxiashan
Yandangshan
Ningde
Hexigten
L
H
Y
W
D
S
H
N
Total geotourism
related revenue
Before (2004) and after (2007)
the establishment of geoparks
(in million CNY, USD1 = CNY 6.3)
(Source: CGN 2014)

20. Jiaozuo City
Case 2
Yuntaishan
Geopark,
Jiaozuo, Henan

21. Jiaozuo (JJ) phenomenon
• Jiaozuo City, Henan Province – poor,
environmentally devastated coal mining
city, heavily polluted , low employment
city in 1999
• In 1999, GDP dropped by 16%, tax
revenue fell by 24%
• Yuntaishan Geopark was established and
used to transform Jiaozuo City in 2001
• ‘Jiaozuo Phenomenon’ – A model of
geopark-induced drastic change as
geotourism related income increased by
nearly 50 times from 0.6 billion in 2001
to 25 billion in 2012

22. 0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
No. of tourists
Million
Comparing
2000/2014
+ 29.6 million
+ > 8 times
JJ Phenomenon - Number of tourists to Jiaozuo City
2014: 33.0m
2000: 3.4m
Source: Jiaozuo 2014
Yuntaishan
Global Geopark

23. 0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
JJ Phenomenon -
Total geotourism related revenue, Jiaozuo City
(in billion CNY, USD1=CNY 6.3)
Total tourism revenue
(in billion CNY)
Billion CNY
Comparing
2000/2014
+ 24 billion
+ > 40 times
2000: 0.6 b
2014: 25 b
Source: Jiaozuo 2014

24. Ancient
volcano
(caldera)
Changyu Town
Shanghai
Changyu Quarry and Cave
Case 3
Changyu Cave,
Yandanshan Global
Geopark

25. Changyu Cave
• Six geosites (Eight Fairy Cave, Sky & Heaven Cave,
Water & Cloud Cave, Double Gate Cave, Double Gate
Sculpture, Sunset Cave) and one Panda House

26. Transforming & restoration projects
• Total quarry area 16.18 sq. km
• Shapes of pits – Open or closed/underground bench-like, perpendicular,
bell-like
• 28 tunnel systems, 1,314 grottos
• Hammered and chiseled manually for over 1,500 years
• Largest man-made cave in the world (Guinness Record 1998)
• Artefacts: bridges, roads, floodgates, wharfs, slabs, houses, window
frames, arches, tombs, posts, household utensils, tools
• Taoist, Buddhist temples, concert hall
• 1st stone culture museum in China – 5 exhibition areas

27. Environmental improvement
• Upgrading the overall environment
• Solving environmental problems – tailings, dust, flooding, safety, water
quality, toxic soils, abandoned machines and equipment, improve
aesthetic value
Before After

41. No. of visitors
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
No. of visitors
No. of visitors
+43%
Source:
YDS Management
Authority 2014
0.69m
0.99m

42. Ticket revenue
0
5
10
15
20
25
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
CNY in million
Ticket sale (CNY)
+184%
20.53m
(USD3.34m )
Source:
YDS Management Authority 2014
7.24m
(USD1.18m)

43. Non-ticket revenue
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
CNY in million
CNY in million
+32 times
Source:
YDS Management Authority
2014
0.28 m
9.12m
(USD1.45m)
(USD0.05m)

44. 5. Conclusions

45. • Nature-based tourism is about telling stories of our Nature
• Telling stories of our Earth has long been missing or insufficient in
nature-based tourism and this can be done through geotourism and
geoparks
• Geotourism can grow better and faster with geopark
• UNESCO Global Geopark is a global movement and is moving very fast
in the past decade
• Geopark is more than just rocks, it comes together with a sustainable
management and development strategy of our geological heritage
benefiting local communities
• Many successful cases in China may provide insights for some similar
sites in Australia and other areas in the Asia Pacific region

46. Thank you!
young@rocks.org.hk