Relationships between Landscape Evaluations of Geo-tour Participants and Interpretations of Geo-tour Guides:

A Case Study of Izu-Oshima Geopark

Abstract

 The objective of this study is to clarify how the landscape is evaluated by participants of geo-tours on Izu-Oshima Island. The Visitor-employed photography (VEP) method is used to identify places where landscape evaluations are concentrated and objects are photographed frequently. Further, this study discusses the impact of interpretations by tour guides on the landscape evaluations of participants. Izu-Oshima Island, located 120 km south of Tokyo, is a volcanic island which was certified as a geopark in 2010. In this study, university students, who were part of a field excursion, were divided into two groups and accompanied by two tour guides. The results of a Kernel density estimation shows that the locations of photographs taken by the tour participants are concentrated in areas where the tour guides provide interpretations. These locations differ by tour group, which indicates that landscape evaluations are influenced interpretations. Each participant chose five favorite photographs from among their own photographs. Photographs of people were preferred. Tour participants took photographs of geological and geographical features as records; however, photographs of people were preferred as happy memories with friends during the tour. It is important to have both academic and entertaining contents in interpretations during educational activities of Geoparks.