Sustainable Development of Ecotourism in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiyari Province, Iran, a Scenario Study

Subject Areas : Geography and tourism planning, geography and urban planning, urban planning, architecture, geography and rural planning, political geography

Farahnaz Ebrahimi ¹ , Vahid Etemad ²

1 - Department of Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 - Associate Prof. Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, College of agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran

Received: 2019-06-30 Accepted : 2019-06-30 Published : 2019-06-01

Keywords:

Abstract :

Due to people's searching for a unique new destination to pass their holidays and release for a while, the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiyari in Iran is one of the top touristic destinations in which a combination of huge natural beauty and rich history due to the nomadic lifestyle has made this province as a potential region for eco-tourism development. In this study based on the current situation of the area, four scenarios' development has been provided for the future development of eco-tourism market in this region. These scenarios have been provided based on 22 in-depth interviews with main stakeholders of ecotourism market of the region. International resort, nomadic resort, eco-cultural resort and exclusive resort are four different future scenarios for the region as a result of the research. Each has separate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Consequently, it has been discussed that a combination of all four scenarios and using the best future action plans of all the scenarios will be a suitable plan for the eco-tourism sustainable development of this province in future.

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