Geoheritage Interpretation Panels in UNESCO Global Geoparks: Recommendations and Assessment

Abstract

Aspects of geoheritage have interested the general public for centuries. Since the global growth of geotourism and geoparks, the importance of geoheritage has become more evident, especially from the perspective of the development of (geo)tourism. From the perspective of sustainability, effective geoheritage presentation via geointerpretation and geoeducation is crucial. One of the most common and effective ways of presenting specific information in the field is an interpretive panel. This paper presents an assessment of geoheritage interpretation on interpretive panels in 11 UNESCO Global Geoparks. The proposed assessment methodology consists of six categories which include 39 assessment questions in total. The results show that the strongest feature of the evaluated panels is simplicity and clarity without losing scientific meaning, while minimal or no attention is paid to features increasing visitor’s enjoyment (e.g., questions or activities) and sustainability and conservation aspects. The approach presented in this paper may contribute to discussion and research in effective geoheritage interpretation for general public, fostering sustainable geotourism development and geoheritage management, use and protection.