Optimising geotrail planning by leveraging least-cost path for sustainable geotourism development: a case study on a Tasmanian west coast post-mining landscape

Geotrails serve as educational journeys that highlight significant geodiversity and cultural heritage, offering recreational and interpretive experiences in a range of constructed and natural environments. There is a growing need for objective methods to support decision-making in geotrail design. The Least-Cost Path (LCP) method, a resistance-based model, is effective for identifying routes suitable for geotrail development. Stakeholder-led design ensures the geotrail aligns with user needs. To date, there has not been a study in which a combination of LCP methods used in GIS trail design have been used in association with user persona profiles to design putative geotrails. We present a geotrail assessment methodology using LCP combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) that could enable geotourism practitioners to tailor trails to specific requirements, such as best practice requirements, or for various user personas. In-field validation via GNSS survey refined our LCP approach and enabled geotrail revision for similar or reduced cost after revised priorities and ranking of field criteria were incorporated. A case study on the West Coast of Tasmania, a mostly mountainous, wild landscape with mining operations of (geo)heritage significance, was conducted. Three putative geotrails were designed and field-validated, targeting users interested in mining heritage, natural values, and wilderness adventure experiences. Results showed that the validated LCP model closely adhered to trail best practices, making it suitable for planners and geotourism practitioners. Field validation decreased the overall cost of geotrails, improved accessibility, compliance with environmental and maintenance standards, safety considerations, and user experience. Additionally, a Python toolbox was created to ensure replicability of the workflow, accessible to geotourism practitioners globally. This approach to geotrail planning supports optimal routes, educational value, and sustainable development in post-mining landscapes and other geotourism areas.