Cultural Geomorphology and Geotourism in the digital information age. Using Geographic Information Technologies to support natural heritage valorisation in São Pedro do Sul municipality

Starting from a revisitation of the Cultural Geomorphology concept, this work focuses on the use of Geographic Information Technologies to create and enrich content used to support the appreciation and management of the natural characteristics of places (geodiversity) in the context of their valorisation as an endogenous tourist resource.

A territory roughly delimited by the tops of the Arada and S. Macário mountains and the valleys of the rivers Sul and Vouga (municipality of São Pedro do Sul) was selected as the study area, primarily because it is a place of significant geomorphological interest, but also because this geoheritage can be used as a complementary tourist resource to the existing spa activities linked to geothermal springs and, in this way, contribute to a reinforcement and diversification of available tourist offer.

Pursuing that main goal, in this work several selected examples are presented to illustrate the potential value associated with the use of Geographic Information Technologies, both for the collection of data in the field and subsequent elaboration of thematic contents tailored to different segments of public, and for the development of a digital platform aimed to support geotourism activities or environmental education events. These are two lines of intervention that can be of great significance to improving public perception for the value of natural and cultural landscapes, particularly in regions with significant problems of depopulation and rural abandonment as is the case of the selected study area.