Prevention of damage to sandstone rocks in protected areas of nature in northern Bohemia

Abstract

<abstract> One of the most interesting natural tourist destinations in the Czech Republic are sandstone rocks, located mainly in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. Sandstones in these areas create a number of aesthetically valuable geomorphological formations, such as rock towers, gates, windows, overhangs etc. In addition, they provide beautiful views. Regions with a concentration of sandstone rocks are thus among the most visited natural areas in the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, mass tourism also brings negative impacts that negatively affect the condition of sandstone rocks—these are mainly engraving in the rocks, painting or spraying on the rocks, vandalism, pollution by garbage or excrements and destruction of natural rock shapes. However, it is not true that a larger number of visitors automatically means a larger number of negative impacts. This paper analyses the factors that influence the occurrence of the above-mentioned negative impacts in areas of sandstone rocks. The basis for the analysis was mapping of negative impacts in the field, data on traffic to individual geosites, GIS database of business entities in the tourism sector in the area of interest and field survey, aimed at explaining the structure of visitors to individual geosites according to their motivation and preferences. First, data on tourists' motivation and preferences were processed using cluster analysis into their typology. Then, the relationship between the intensity of the occurrence of negative impacts and potential factors—the absolute number of visitors, the distance to a major tourist facility and the type of visitor—was analysed. The results showed that damage to geosites is most affected by some types of visitors and little social control. </abstract>