Development of Cave Tourism in the Domica Area in Slovakia

Abstract

The purpose of the study. The main goal of the study is to determine the most effective solutions for the development of cave tourism and medical tourism, as well as the standard of living and infrastructure of the region, based on the used literature and the questionnaire research on tourism development. Applied methods. The study starts with information about the natural and geological heritage found in the Domica region in Slovakia. It continues with the discovery, construction and characterization of the most significant caves from a tourist and economic point of view. Following the professional characterization, the questionnaire research developed and evaluated in the last stage of the study analyzes the possibility of the development of cave tourism and health tourism in the immediate vicinity of the Domica Cave based on the opinions, remarks and experiences of the service providers in the area. Outcomes. Caves are called natural underground cavities that have formed as a result of geomorphological and geophysical processes under different natural conditions. The caves in the karst are dissolved or are created by the weathering of the bedrock, while after the leakage of gases, caves form as cavities in the volcanic rocks. Few countries have as many different underground karst formations as Slovakia, with 7,014 known caves, of which only 18 can be visited. Discovering these underground wonders is a new challenge for hikers. Interest in caves peaked in the 20th century, when the desire to return to nature and improve the health of patients with respiratory diseases (speleotherapy) became the leading motivation. Today, caves are most often used for recreation. Nevertheless, within geotourism a popular way to explore caves is caving and the associated extreme or less extreme sports that only came to the fore in the 21st century. The results of the research of this study are sufficient evidence that the region is suitable for the development of cave tourism and medical tourism, for which the most obvious solution is to create an international geopark.