Scientific tourism, a path to regional transition?

The latest issue of the Revue de géographie alpine is devoted to the question of the “tourism of scientific culture in the mountains” and its role in the diversification of tourism in mountain areas. Mikaël Chambru, researcher at the Groupe de recherche sur les enjeux de la communication (Gresec – Université Grenoble Alpes), is one of the coordinators, along with Cécila Claeys (Aix-Marseille Universités) and Nathalie Lewis (Université du Québec à Rimouski).

“This scientific tourism is meeting with renewed success as it intertwines with current transition dynamics and the socio-environmental issues they reveal: forms of territorial governance, accessibility of scientific culture and eco-compatibility of projects (…)”, write the researchers. Astrotourism, glacier tourism and geotourism are just some of the varied forms of tourism that are developing in all mountain ranges, combining recreational practices and scientific knowledge. This theme of scientific tourism also echoes the Maestro research project led by Mikaël Chambru within Labex ITTEM.

In the same issue, Kalpana Nesur, Emmanuel Salim, Camille Girault and Ludovic Ravanel publish the article Transmettre le savoir scientifique sur les glaciers au grand public : rôle des centers d’interprétation glaciaire dans les stratégies de diversification touristique en montagne, from the Médiadapt project also supported by Labex ITTEM.