Integration of “Visitor Risk” in the qualitative assessment of volcanic geoheritage

Abstract

Volcanic areas are popular destinations for geotourism, and increasing visitation highlights the need to integrate visitor safety more effectively into volcanic geoheritage management. However, the frequency of accidents, some of which are fatal involving visitors to volcanic areas, demonstrates the need to consider visitor risk more explicitly in geosite assessment. To address this issue, we present a Visitor Risk Assessment approach for geosite inventories, particularly suited to geologically active volcanic areas. The approach integrates natural hazards, human factors, and management issues to assess conditions that may influence visitor risk at individual geosites. We tested the approach in two case studies: Arequipa, Peru, and Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. The results demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating visitor risk into geosite assessment and provide a systematic basis for identifying sites with different levels of visitor risk and prioritizing visitor-management measures under changing volcanic and environmental conditions. The proposed approach provides a practical framework for supporting risk-aware and responsible geotourism while contributing to the sustainable management and conservation of volcanic geoheritage.