Rapolano Terme (Siena, Tuscany) is a tiny village at the northern border of the Crete Senesi (Siena clay lands) representing the most typical Tuscan landscape in tourist's imagination. The village and its surroundings are characterized by environmental, historical, economical richness (thermal water springs, travertine quarries, arts and history) and centenary traditions. Many tourists travel in this area and love to spend here a few days searching for peaceful places and relax, and visiting to the main tourist poles (Siena and Florence). The aim of our work was to know to which extent the tourists who spend some time in the spa -as most important attraction for the village- "know" about the landscape (geology, land morphology, land use) and if they would be interested in geotourism. We wish to know, through a simple exercise, about their awareness when they pass close to peculiar geological elements. All this is necessarily linked to the content and quality of the tourist offer but also to the tourist curiosity/environmental interest. Therefore, our survey aims to investigate specifically in Rapolano Terme the tourist's o reasons for visiting the area; o interest in geography and earth knowledge; o awareness/knowledge about geomorphological/geological elements of the area; o opinion on the geotourism offer in the area; o interest in geotourism. The survey is implemented during summer 2015, through a short questionnaire delivered to a hundred of tourists at the spa Terme San Giovanni (which nearby hosts unique geological elements e.g. an active travertine fissure ridge, a CO2 lake and Etruscan-roman ruins). Further steps are data comparisons with those collected in the spa in Tatra mountain (Poland) and on the Dead Sea (Israel).
APPRECIATION AND AWARENESS: CAN TOURISTS BE CONSIDERED GEOTOURISTS? AN INVESTIGATION IN RAPOLANO TERME (TUSCANY)
F Ugolini;A Raschi
2015
Abstract
Rapolano Terme (Siena, Tuscany) is a tiny village at the northern border of the Crete Senesi (Siena clay lands) representing the most typical Tuscan landscape in tourist's imagination. The village and its surroundings are characterized by environmental, historical, economical richness (thermal water springs, travertine quarries, arts and history) and centenary traditions. Many tourists travel in this area and love to spend here a few days searching for peaceful places and relax, and visiting to the main tourist poles (Siena and Florence). The aim of our work was to know to which extent the tourists who spend some time in the spa -as most important attraction for the village- "know" about the landscape (geology, land morphology, land use) and if they would be interested in geotourism. We wish to know, through a simple exercise, about their awareness when they pass close to peculiar geological elements. All this is necessarily linked to the content and quality of the tourist offer but also to the tourist curiosity/environmental interest. Therefore, our survey aims to investigate specifically in Rapolano Terme the tourist's o reasons for visiting the area; o interest in geography and earth knowledge; o awareness/knowledge about geomorphological/geological elements of the area; o opinion on the geotourism offer in the area; o interest in geotourism. The survey is implemented during summer 2015, through a short questionnaire delivered to a hundred of tourists at the spa Terme San Giovanni (which nearby hosts unique geological elements e.g. an active travertine fissure ridge, a CO2 lake and Etruscan-roman ruins). Further steps are data comparisons with those collected in the spa in Tatra mountain (Poland) and on the Dead Sea (Israel).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
