Abstract
Speleotourism implies visiting caves and respecting geomorphological values. A visit to the caves must include certain rules of conduct and implementation of geoethical values to achieve sustainable speleotourism development. This paper investigates the tourist traffic of an authentic cave in northwestern Bulgaria, the Magura Cave, which is a speleological object with exceptional potential for the development of speleotourism. The explored cave includes unique examples of cave paintings and imposing historical values. The research methodology mainly included descriptive analysis of data obtained by the administrative staff of the Municipality of Belogradchik. The data of tourist visits are presented in tables and graphs. The research results indicate the current state and potential prospects for the development of speleotourism in the Magura Cave. Moreover, the paper presents measures for more effective development of speleotourism, which are of special importance for organizational and cave management structures.
Highlights
The search for new experiences has always been a trend among tourists (Vespestad et al, 2019; Rogerson, 2020; Pellešová, 2020)
This large and significant difference did not change until 2019, which is a negative element in the speleotourism development of Magura Cave
The analysis of the tourist traffic of Magura Cave in northwestern Bulgaria provided an insight into the current state and possible perspectives of the future speleotourism development
Summary
The search for new experiences has always been a trend among tourists (Vespestad et al, 2019; Rogerson, 2020; Pellešová, 2020). Visiting the natural environment and tourist affirmation of georesources is becoming increasingly important (Escorihuela and Dowling, 2015; Gordon, 2018; Rivero et al, 2019), especially in the field of speleotourism (Tičar et al, 2018; Tomić et al, 2019; Antić and Tomić 2019; Antić et al, 2019). Cave visitation includes exploration of inner caves and cave areas, studying a cave or its surroundings from geological, cultural, historical, archaeological, botanical and environmental educational viewpoints. This is very important for underdeveloped areas in Southeast Europe, which lack significant investment projects and effective economic development (Uvalić, 2001). Geotourism and speleotourism can play a major role in economic revitalization in this region, as these types of tourism place a focus on the rich natural resources stationed in the area. Speleotourism is not sufficiently developed, it is necessary to explore all factors that can reveal ways to make the most of speleotourism potentials in order to achieve socio-economic, sustainable and geoethical values
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