S4.8: Volcanic tourism

Convener(s)

Nikos Zouros

Department of Geography, University of the Aegean Greece
nzour@aegean.gr

Charalampos Fassoulas

University of Crete, Natural History Museum of Crete, Greece
fassoulas@nhmc.uoc.gr

Volcano tourism becomes more and more popular the last years as people are getting more excited and more interested in nature, geodiversity, geological heritage, geoparks, national parks. Millions of visitors are enjoying the beauty of volcanic landscapes and that also gives an economic boost in many regions in the world. People nowadays are being attracted in geotourism and ecotourism, which play a vital role in a country’s tourism and economic status.The view of an erupted volcano might be a lifetime experience, but the excitement of the moment might turn to a dramatic scenery. The closer they get, the more excitement they get. There have been recorded several victims, by molten lava,sulfurous gases, ejected products, trying to capture the unique moments. But this also poses a threat to the emergency services and put them in risk, in case of rescue. The local authorities need to take under serious consideration the possibility of the geotourists, who do not obey their instructions and don’t pay attention to the announcements of the scientists.A dark tourism is also a fact nowadays, like visiting Pompeii which is a pole of attraction because of the total, deadly devastation.

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