Muṭāli̒āt-i Mudīriyyat-i Gardishgarī (Mar 2022)
A Model of Ecotourism Development in Iran: Dimensions and Strategies
Abstract
Introduction Ecotourism can serve as one of the effective strategies for economic, social, and environmental development of destinations. Nowadays, many policies aim to develop ecotourism and utilize its benefits, especially in the developing countries with rich natural resources. Iran is one of the countries with considerable potential for ecotourism development. However, there is no consistent plan to use the county’s potentialities in this respect. It is thus necessary to take serious measures to develop ecotourism and utilize Iran’s natural resources optimally. This study aims to propose a model of ecotourism development in Iran. Materials and Methods The present study relies on a mixed methods research design. Concerning the qualitative aspect, practitioners and experts were interviewed to extract the elements of the model. Then the data was analyzed through the method of thematic analysis. In the quantitative part, the dimensions and strategies were arranged into a questionnaire and were ranked by the tourism experts in Iran. Finally, the method of hesitant fuzzy sets was employed to analyze the data. Results and Discussion According to the results, the most important ecotourism development dimensions in Iran can be enumerated in order of importance as follows: management, infrastructure development, marketing and training, and human resource development. Moreover, the key ecotourism development strategies, in order of importance, are as follows: carrying out marketing activities to increase the market share of ecotourism, diversifying Iran’s ecotourism products, improving the access roads to tourism villages, and increasing the destination’s resilience to natural disasters. Conclusion Exploring the underlying conditions in Iran, this study proposed a model of ecotourism development in Iran as a potential destination for ecotourism. The findings can offer practical and scientific guidelines to managers and policymakers who seek to develop ecotourism in Iran.
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