Trout Point Lodge at the 2010 Geotourism Summit
According to the Center for Sustainable Destinations at the National Geographic Society:
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.
Geotourism incorporates the concept of sustainable tourism—that destinations should remain unspoiled for future generations—while allowing for ways to protect a place’s character. Geotourism also takes a principle from its ecotourism cousin,—that tourism revenue should promote conservation—and extends it to culture and history as well, that is, all distinctive assets of a place.
On February 1-3, Vaughn Perret and Charles Leary attended the 2010 Geotourism Summit at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. As delegates and guests of the Society and Ashoka’s Changemakers, Perret & Leary both attended a Geotourism Ambassador training, receiving certificates signed by Jonathan Tourtellot, Director of the Center for Sustainable Destinations. On February 2, Charles Leary made a brief presentation as 1 of the 10 Geotourism Challenge finalists chosen from over 600 entries from over 80 countries.
Perret & Leary hope to continue to work with the Center for Sustainable Destinations on a Geotourism Map project for southern Nova Scotia.
