Assessing the Geotourism Potential of the Nis City Area (Southeast Serbia)

The turbulent geological past of the southeastern part of Serbia, along with the influence of the Nisava River, has created a rich and complex geodiversity. However, the geotourism potential of this area remains fully unrevealed. This paper proposes an inventory of geosites in the Nis City area (southeast Serbia) and analyses them to reveal which geosite possesses the greatest geotourism potential. The selected sites were evaluated by applying the Modified Geosite Assessment Model (M-GAM) to discover the most suitable geosites for future geotourism development. The main goal of this study is to emphasize the geotourism potential of the Nis City area and establish the current state and geotourism potential of geosites located there. The results point out that further geotourism development should primarily be focused on Cerjanska cave and Sicevo gorge. The results reveal information about the key fields of improvement for each evaluated geosite. Also, results identify which areas require more attention and better management in the upcoming period for this area to become a geotourism destination that would attract a larger number of tourists in the future.