New study programme „Geotourism“ was founded at the Technical University of Košice, BERG Faculty by three professors from three different departments: prof. Jacko from the Department of Geology and Mineralogy, prof. Šiška from the Department of Mineral Dressing and prof. Rybár from the Department of exploitation and geotechnics. It was one of the suggestions how to modernize the faculty and provide to students new field of study which would be related to mining and which would catch their attention more than classical mining fields. The proposal was realized at the Department of Geology and Mineralogy, where the Section of landscape geopromotion was established and subsequently in 2001 separate Department of landscape geopromotion was created which was led by Ing. Bartolomej Baláž, PhD.. The study programme „Landscape geopromotion“ at the Department of Geology and Mineralogy was opened in the academic year 1994-95. Separate Institute of geotourism was established in 2007 by the division of the Institute of Business and tourism in two departments: Department of Business and management and Department of geotourism.
The reason for its establishment was primarily the need to develop tourism in Slovakia and particularly in Košice autonomous contry. The study programme guarantor was from its inception until 2001, prof. Stanislav Jacko, PhD. and since 2001 doc. Ing. Gejza M. Timčák, PhD. In 2002 became the guarantor of the Bachelor”s degree doc. Ing. Jana Jablonská PhD., from 2016 is the guarantor of the level doc. Ing. Ľubomír Štrba, PhD. and guarantor of secondary level of study programme „Geotourism“ have been since 2006 prof. Ing. Pavol Rybár, PhD.
The director of the Institute from September 2007 was prof. Ing. Pavol Rybár, PhD., who led the institute until March 2015 when the Institute of Geotourism changed its name to Department of Geo and Mining tourism and this department became a part of the Institute of Earth Resources. Currently the head of the Department of Geo and Mining tourism is doc. Mgr. Mário Molokáč, PhD.
The department offers also PhD. studies in the field of study 5.2.38 „Explotation and protection of earth resources“, study programme „Use and protection of earth resources“. All three degrees of study (Bachelor, Master and PhD.) are accredited continuously since their inception, in the internal and external forms of study. From 2001 has our department accredited Tour Guide Course, in which several hundred of our students but also wider public interested in tour guiding took part.