{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T22:23:26Z","timestamp":1780439006699,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":100,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,21]],"date-time":"2021-04-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1618963200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sustainability"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The inventory and assessment of a geosite in a territory provides a sound basis for the protection and use of its geological heritage. This article aims to evaluate the most relevant geosites in the province of Chimborazo (Ecuador), applying the Spanish Inventory of Sites of Geological Interest (IELIG, in Spanish) method, and proposing alternatives for geotourism development in the studied area. The methodological process was based on: (i) the inventory and preliminary selection of geosites; (ii) a semi-quantitative geosite assessment and proposal of travel itineraries for geotourism; and (iii) the application of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) matrix to establish geotourism development strategies within a framework of sustainability. The global assessment of scientific, tourist, and academic interests demonstrates that 25% of the 20 evaluated geosites have very high interest and 75% have high interest. The top three geosites with the highest degrees of interest are the Chimborazo Volcano, known as \u2018Earth\u2019s Closest Point to the Sun\u2019, the Pallatanga geological fault, and the geosite named Comunidad Cacha. The SWOT analysis reveals that travel itineraries that combine cultural heritage elements and geosites could offer a real alternative for the region\u2019s sustainable development through geotourism.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/su13094624","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,21]],"date-time":"2021-04-21T21:25:10Z","timestamp":1619040310000},"page":"4624","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":46,"title":["Geosites and Geotourism in the Local Development of Communities of the Andes Mountains. A Case Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9747-7547","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pa\u00fal","family":"Carri\u00f3n-Mero","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n y Proyectos Aplicados a las Ciencias de la Tierra (CIPAT), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 9015863, Ecuador"},{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda en Ciencias de la Tierra, ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 9015863, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4277-4261","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"C\u00e9sar","family":"Borja-Bernal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad de Guayaquil (UG), Guayaquil 9015863, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9558-6099","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gricelda","family":"Herrera-Franco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias de la Ingenier\u00eda, Universidad Estatal Pen\u00ednsula de Santa Elena (UPSE), La Libertad 240204, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0374-0306","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fernando","family":"Morante-Carballo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n y Proyectos Aplicados a las Ciencias de la Tierra (CIPAT), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 9015863, Ecuador"},{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matem\u00e1ticas (FCNM), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 9015863, Ecuador"},{"name":"Geo-Recursos y Aplicaciones GIGA, ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 9015863, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6804-6377","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mar\u00eda","family":"Jaya-Montalvo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bira Bienes Ra\u00edces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Zaruma 071350, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alfonso","family":"Maldonado-Zamora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda Geol\u00f3gica y Minera, Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid, Escuela T\u00e9cnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas y Energ\u00eda, 28031 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6272-6435","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nataly","family":"Paz-Salas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bira Bienes Ra\u00edces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Zaruma 071350, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2667-7461","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edgar","family":"Berrezueta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Infraestructura Geocient\u00edfica y Servicios, Instituto Geol\u00f3gico y Minero de Espa\u00f1a (IGME), 33005 Oviedo, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"659","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pgeola.2013.01.003","article-title":"Geodiversity and the ecosystem approach: The contribution of geoscience in delivering integrated environmental management","volume":"124","author":"Gray","year":"2013","journal-title":"Proc. Geol. 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