From tourism to geotourism, a glance to the French northern alps: historical cases

Geotourism's burgeoning literature has tended to focus on descriptions and case studies of modern interpretative and promotional provision in protected areas and geoparks. The significant historical antecedents of modern geotourism in Britain and Europe are comparatively neglected in the literature. Whilst these antecedents can be traced back to the elite 17th century travellers who ventured into wild landscapes and visited caves and mines, early modern geotourism, with many of the features of its present-day provision, can be recognised if not so named from the opening of the 19th century. This latter period more than coincided with the emergence of modern scientific geology and the beginnings of excursion tourism; the organised publication of regional geology guide-books and geology field excursions followed from the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The conference's timeframe opens with the early reportage of elite travellers and the publication of the first travellers' guide-books and closes at the cusp of modern landscape and geoconservation measures, such as national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty, national nature reserves, and the emergence of environmental interpretation and modern countryside leisure as forerunners to modern geopark provision