Assessment of Sustainable Ecotourism Development in the Kermanshah city

Abstract

Ecotourism or nature tourism is one of the branches of tourism that is based on natural attractions. Ecotourism industry includes strategies to identify areas of prone nature and the planning for these areas to attract ecotourists and create the infrastructure facilities for them. City of Kermanshah is among regions with interesting scenery which enjoys rich cultural and historical attractions in the field of tourism. This study tries to evaluate the challenges and opportunities of nature tourism of this city using SWOT strategic model and to present appropriate strategies to achieve sustainable ecotourism for the region. It is a descriptive-analytical study and data collection is done using library, survey and documentary methods. The results of this study indicate that pristine nature and high ecotourism capabilities with a score of 0.45 and varied climate with a score of 0.32 are among the most important strengths. Lack of proper introduction of the region attractions with a score of 0.32 is the most important weakness. Job creation with score of 0.36 and visits management with a score of 0.28 are the most important opportunities and Lack of organized and studied programs with a score of 0.40 are the most important threats to the sustainable development in ecotourism of the area.

Keywords

• development
• sustainable ecotourism
• opportunities
• kermanshah