Geoturismo no Geopark Araripe Ce, Brasil: comunidade e desenvolvimento territorial

Abstract

From the implantation of the Araripe Geopark, a landmark for urban-environmental development is observed in the cities that contain geosites, so that the Geopark was adopted by the Government of the State of Ceará as a guiding project for infrastructure investments in the Cariri Region. In addition, the geopark represented the implementation of several activities in the region directed to geotourism as: courses and thematic lectures; actions for tourism; encouraging cultural activities; production of handicrafts and local identity products; and support activities related to economic development. The impact of the materialization of the proposal culminates in the generation of employment and income to the communities of the territory of Geopark, through the insertion of these communities in the structure inherent to the composition of a regional geotourism project. The main objective of this research was to propose, in the practice of geotourism at Geopark Araripe, an inclusive strategy for the development of its territory, considering its socio-economic specificities and demonstrating the importance of its application for income generation, sustainability and social responsibility. In order to verify the social impact of geotourism, a survey of information and data related to tourism in the municipalities that make up the Araripe Geopark was carried out, as well as a survey of members of communities close to the geosite areas (363 applications). From the analysis of the data a proposal of geotourism routing was structured for the territory according to its main thematic platforms, as well as proposals of diffusion. The research also proposes an interactive and informative platform for use by users who access the official website of the Araripe Geopark.