Astrotourism as a tool for astronomy and planetary science outreach - The case study of Ikaria island

Astrotourism has been used in several locations as a model for business development. Astrotourism is an umbrella term including activities that focus on the night sky such as stargazing and astronomical phenomena such as aurora, eclipses, meteor shower etc.  Although astrotourism has been studied in the literature, many themes have not been covered yet. Usually astrotourism is connected to the protection of the night sky from light pollution. Astrotourism research is focused also on how astrotouristic activities can be combined with regional tourism. This presentation will focus on the aspect of using astrotouristic activities as a vehicle for outreach of astronomy and planetary science. Particularly, I will share practices, challenges and lessons learned from my experience on performing astrotouristic activities on the Greek island of Ikaria. Ikaria is a place where light pollution is almost absent. Additionally, the high altitudes of the mountainous areas in combination with the low level of industrialisation, give room for experimental efforts of astotourism. The power of the clear dark skies in combination with the pristine nature of Ikaria island lead to the creation of ideal conditions for experience-based activities which create to people unique feelings.