Potentialities in Oiapoque Municipality, Amapá State, for the Development of Geotourism

Abstract

Geotourism is a new perspective on tourism, which has as a main objective, the understanding about the natural field through interpretative ways that allow the tourist, or the public in general, to know the history about geological, geomorphological and cultural aspects, and also through these interpretative ways promote the awareness of the importance of these natural fields. The aim of this paper is to show how some geotouristic sites from Oiapoque Municipality, Amapá State, can develop geotourism and analyse how these sites can contribute to the local economic development. It is essential to involve geotourism in Oiapoque, because the same proceeding will put the people in one of the main discussions nowadays: the relation between humans and environment. In order to achieve this target, firstly, it was necessary to survey references on books and national and international scientific papers about this subject. Secondly, there have been field visits to understand each site where geotourism can be activated, to register each place, taking photographs and locating them, using Global Positioning System (GPS). It could be concluded that Oiapoque Municipality has a good potential for the development of geotourism, and it can be developed adopting public policies and activities concerning the qualification of professionals from this sector.