PROVIDENCE – Gov. Donald L. Carcieri yesterday signed the National Geographic Society’s Geotourism Charter, making Rhode Island the second state after Arizona to endorse those principles, and the sixth destination worldwide. Honduras, Norway, Romania and Guatemala also have committed to to the pact.
Geotourism, as National Geographic defines it, is “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place – its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents.”
Much of the tourism industry is headed in a different direction, said Jonathan Tourtellot, of the National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations, speaking at the tourism luncheon at the R.I. Convention Center where the pact was announced.
The industry is drifting toward rest-and-recreation-focused travel that prizes pretty resorts, he said, or even “entertainment”-style travel involving destinations (Las Vegas is the ultimate example) that are disconnected from their surroundings.
The latter can have an “enormous” negative impact on a community, Tourtellot said, destroying its character and making the place undesirable or unaffordable for the original residents. Geotourism, on the other hand, aims to make places more enjoyable for all.
“Geotourism is really what Rhode Island has been doing for decades,” State Tourism Director David C. DePetrillo said in an interview. “We have been promoting what is natural and authentic about our resources.”
Now, the state is going to take that further, DePetrillo said, with a new Geotourism Collaborative that will bring together 40 to 50 statewide and regional environmental, historic preservation, cultural and other groups.
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To read the unabridged version of this article, pick up (or read online) the May 28 edition of Providence Business News.
