Unearthing the geotourism experience: Geotourist perspectives at Mount Pinatubo,Philippines

Abstract

This study aims to explore the geotourism experience by undertaking a qualitative inquiry of the narratives of geotourists to Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. This study proposes that the geotourism experience is created onsite through the tourists’ visual, performative and social aspects of gazing and produced in the tourists’ minds through their perception, imagination and self-reflection. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 12 purposefully selected geotourists. Thematic analysis procedures reveal 11 experiential themes that illustrate varying perspectives on the geotourism experience, categorised into three dimensions: ‘natural’, ‘recreational’ and ‘socio-cultural’. The findings indicate that apart from the expected leisure, hedonic and adventurous experiences, deeper outcomes such as a sense of awe, personal reflections and spiritual outcomes are apparent in the geotourism experience, as a result of individuals’ negotiations with Mount Pinatubo’s natural landscape and touristic environment. More meaningful and transformative experiences are also discovered from geotourists’ engagement with the landform’s cultural landscape, particularly from their social interaction with the indigenous people who live at Mount Pinatubo. These outcomes suggest the gaining of a holistic view of the Earth and its inhabitants through geotourism. This article thus provides some understanding of the experiential aspects of geotourism.