Are fossils enough? Palaeontological tourism based on local dinosaur discoveries

Abstract

Fossils of dinosaurs and other tetrapods have long aroused interest of scientists and the public opinion alike. Every finding of a new (especially large) species receives coverage in national and international media, and thus, local fossil discoveries might constitute a good basis for local tourism development. The paper aims to examine whether fossiliferous sites on their own may be enough for the development of palaeontological tourism to occur, or do they require the support of additional amusement infrastructure. For this purpose, the interest in chosen localities was analysed using Google and Wikipedia searches, and was further discussed against a survey on dinoparks and their elements. The above-mentioned data reveal that local tourism can be indeed predicated on local paleontological findings, however, it is deemed considerably more efficient if such attractions are backed with an extensive infrastructure of amusement theme parks.