A modified Geosite Assessment Model (M-GAM) and its Application on the Lazar Canyon area (Serbia)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a modified version of GAM (M-GAM) which should show<br />that the results gained by using this version are more accurate and realistic. The modification is based on the<br />inclusion of tourists and their opinion regarding the importance of indicators in the assessment process. The<br />assessment was done by using both versions of GAM and the results were compared and analyzed afterwards.<br />Both assessment methods were applied on the Lazar Canyon area located in eastern Serbia, a territory which<br />possesses a large concentration of geosites on a relatively small surface area and it has great potential for<br />geotourism development. The study revealed that the inclusion of tourists in the assessment process can have<br />crucial impact on the final results. By introducing the importance factor in the modified model we were able to<br />point out those values which are of paramount importance for tourists. This can be rather useful in the<br />improvement and planning of tourism activities as it exactly shows which of the lower values should receive<br />the most attention in the future based on their significance for tourists.