Santa Elena Peninsula is characterized by beautiful geological features, historical geoscientific knowledge, and mineral and tourism resources that could all be combined for the sake of community development. This article provides an overview of the Santa Elena Peninsula Geopark Project through the assessment of six areas that are considered by inhabitants and researchers possible geosites to foster geotourism. The methodology included: (i) a technical description and assessment of the areas of interest evaluating their geological relevance, representativeness, geotouristic prominence, geotouristic scientific interpretation, and conservation criteria; (ii) an assessment through questionnaires carried out on inhabitants; and (iii) a SWOT Plus analysis to propose strategies for promoting geotourism. Results show that the areas of interest are highly valued as geosites, since they integrate geodiversity, biodiversity, and sociocultural aspects. For example, Ancon is a historical icon of early oil exploitation, Baños de San Vicente is a natural spring of thermal water and mud volcano, and Anconcito has bituminous exudations of natural occurrence together with a spectacular landscape produced by erosion. Overall, 90% of these sites were proved to be of high and very high interest in scientific terms. Geotourism is believed to be beneficial for the inhabitants of the Santa Elena Peninsula with respect to education, valorization of resources, and the strengthening of cultural identity of communities.

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 ‘Earth’s Closest Point to the Sun’, 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’s sustainable development through geotourism.