Resumo: Badlands landscapes can be found all over the world. In some places due to their unique characteristics, they constitute tourist resources and some have been declared World Heritage sties by the UNESCO. The principle objectives of this study are to analyze the importance of the badland areas in the Region of Murcia; to select the main badland landscapes in the Region, to reveal the values of these areas and propose that they be considered as tourist resources, taking into account their potentiality and the threats that they suffer or could suffer. In the selected areas, the geological, geomorphological, landscape, educational and cultural values have been compared, differentiating between those that are subject to intense agricultural activity and those that have maintained a semi-natural evolution. A SWOT analysis of these areas has been carried out and an evaluation has been made applying the specific criteria of: i) the scientific and educational value; ii) accessibility; and iii) the tourism value. Each criterion has been evaluated according to a scale of three points and a different grade. The results show that the five areas studied have sufficient values to become areas of great geotourism interest. However, it is necessary to implement measures to disseminate and raise awareness of these values among the regional population and the different administrations in order to minimize threats and reinforce strengths.
