Ecotourism

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the semantic system of ecotourism resort owners about the effects of Coronavirus on the environment and nature to show how they understand, interpret and evaluate this phenomenon and its consequences. 12 owners of ecotourism resorts in Mazandaran province participated in this study. After discovering the basic concepts and major categories in the axial coding stage, the process of connecting the categories was done based on their properties. The environmental effects of Coronavirus as a core category, major categories under the headings of consumption, environmental attitudes, barriers, and solutions/strategies were revealed as major categories. Food consumption (packaged and home-made), consumption of hygienic chemicals, consumption of natural sources (water, energy) under the category of consumption, attitudes towards littering, biodiversity conservation, environmental pollution under the category of attitudes towards the environment, legal, individual and structural barriers were placed under the category of barriers to pro-environmental behaviors and creating opportunities for support, increasing environmental awareness and attracting public participation under the category of solutions/strategies. According to the respondents, the emergence of Coronavirus has increased littering in nature and due to its social fear, the volume of new waste (masks and gloves) has increased; however, the positive effects such as biodiversity conservation and reduction of air pollutants due to reduced traffic would be transient and temporary.

Majority of Iran (about 90%) is situated in semi-arid, desert and semi-desert regions. The vast extent of dry areas in Iran necessitates a thorough consideration of the potentials of these areas in the field of ecotourism industry. Desert areas in Iran are full of tourist attractions, so that in addition to the natural attractions of deserts and salt deserts, it is possible to say that most cities or even some rural areas located in these regions have unique cultural monuments and historical and natural attractions. Dasht-e Kavir (Great Salt Desert) and Dasht-e-Lut (Lut Desert), the two largest salt deserts in central Iran, are considered as one of the richest ecotourism potentials in the Middle East. The spatial scope of this research includes sandy and salt desert tourism destinations such as Maranjab Desert located in northern Aran va Bidgol, city and Mesr village in the central district of Khur and Biabanak County, Isfahan Province. In this research, we tried to examine the hypotheses of this study by identifying the specific and unique potentials of these areas, based on the field study and collecting library documents and information, using observations, interviews with authorities and professionals in the field of tourism and referring to the relevant web sites. The analysis of data of this research indicates that the unique conditions of the studied areas in terms of natural, historical and sport attractions and so on are among the most important potentials for attracting domestic and foreign tourists. According to the findings of this study, the difference between the culture of tourists and local subcultures and also the lack of necessary facilities and infrastructure are among the problems facing the officials and tourists in these areas. Based on the interviews conducted with tourism officials and local trustees, the development of any tourism activity requires the existence of infrastructures such as roads, transportation, residential centers, health centers, security centers as well as religious and cultural infrastructures, so that the tourism activity in these areas can become as dynamic as possible.

Today, tourism industry is addressed with a wise and specialized approach which encompasses different sectors. One of the important sectors of tourism is ecotourism and geotourism. From scientific viewpoint, Ecotourists and Geotourists are those who start on a journey to observe natural and geological sights and landscapes in order to visually observe world’s wonders. In addition to beautiful natural landscapes including deserts, kavirs, basins, beautiful coasts, mountains and unique plant covers, Iran has high tourism (ecotourism and geotourism) potentials due to diverse climatic conditions, suitable sunny hours, etc. Among all these landscapes, Dasht-e-Kavir, as the largest salare of Iran and world with an area more than 120,000 km 2, has placed in itself a set of most unique landscapes of the world. Based on geological divisions, Dasht-e-Kavir is located in the limits of central Iran and has experienced several changes during its life. It is likely to have been under water for millions of years as the result of tectonic movements or it may sometimes have come out of water due to vertical movements. By formation of Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges in about 65 million years ago, a shallow lake was formed at that part and was affected by several complicated climatic and tectonic conditions in Tertiary and Quaternary periods. The result of all these accidents has provided the possibility of formation of a set of most surprising landscapes in a relatively limited space. The main goal of this research is to introduce tourism and ecotourism attractions of Dasht-e-Kavir. In this desert, a set of salares, deserts, sand dunes, salt polygons, salt and clay pans, several swamps and cold and warm springs are observed beside historical works. Major landscapes and historical works available in Dasht-e-Kavir include Masileh Desert, Hoz-e-Soltan, Salt Lake, Dagh Sorkh, Rig Gen, Nakhjir valley of Maranjab desert, mountains of Siah Kouh, Talheh Mountain, Bahram Palace, Shah Abbasi Caravanserai.

The purpose of this study was to re-identify the potential environmental and natural attractions that can affect the sport tourist attraction development from perspective of experts and pundits in Shahrud and determine the importance rate of each variable. This is a survey research analysis. At first, a list of environmental attractions and sport natural potential were prepared in the study area. Then, through using geographical information system (GIS) and land use map layers overlaying technique and also Transmittal, Shahrud city natural attractions were prepared for the first time. Information layers overlaying has been done by Arc GIS software edited version. In the following, through a questionnaire in the form of Likert, which its validity was approved by professors, and, its reliability was obtained (α = 0.95) by Cronbach alpha, were consulted. The statistical population of this research includes four different groups of tourism, environment and natural resources experts, university teachers, sport and exercise experts, managers and relative staffs of tourism travelling official tours. Statistical sample of (n=26) samples available of total population of (n=40) have been achieved. In this study, Factor analysis was used for analysis. Also, the results of internal and external factors collected in separate matrix implied that the total value of weakness and strengthen point was (M2.229); it indicates that the weakness points defeated the strengthen points; the total value of threats and opportunities was (M=2.253) which indicates that threats defeated the opportunities. Hence, the chosen strategies are defensive.

Purpose- Ecotourism is a foundation of sustainable development of societies and a way for conserving natural landscapes and reservoirs. In this regard, rural tourism, especially rural ecotourism, is a sort of tourism that can be highly effective in the revival of villages considering the natural and cultural capacities of these areas. So, this research analyzes the infrastructure for the development of rural ecotourism in Ardabil province, Iran. Design/methodology/approach - The research is an applied study in goal and an analytical study in nature. The research realm includes 311 villages with a population of over 500 people in Ardabil province. The research adopted the TOPSIS model. The criteria used to measure the ecotourism potential included healthcare, transportation infrastructure, business and services, information technology, energy, and cultural, sports, and religious infrastructure. Weights were assigned by experts to the criteria based on their importance. Finding- The results showed that the villages with the highest potential for the development of rural ecotourism in the counties of Ardabil, Bileh Savar, Parsabad, Khalkhal, Sareyn, Kowsar, Germi, Meshgin Shahr, Nir, and Namin included Somarin, Gug Tappeh, Shahrak-e Gharbi, Shal, Ardi Musa, Zarjabad, Qarah Aghaj-e Pain, Alni, Virseq, and Anbaran-e Olya. In this regard, the village of Anbaran-e Olya in Namin exhibits the best performance across the province with a CL score of 1. Out of all studied villages, 86 percent were placed in the moderate and low category, 2 percent in the very high category, 8 percent in the high category, and 4 percent in the very low category. Research limitations/implications - The main limitation of the research is the lack of access to up-to-date information. Practical implications - Given the results, it is recommended to invest in villages that have the potential for ecotourism, thereby contributing to attracting tourists and converting them into rural tourism hubs. Originality/value - The analysis of the potential of Ardabil province, which is a tourist destination, for the development of rural ecotourism can help identify touristy villages to focus on their prosperity.

Today, the tourism industry is of great interest in the world in a sustainable development strategy. In developing countries with an extremely high rural population, such as Iran, ecotourism is considered as a potential for economic growth. Rural women, as a group with multi-functional roles in the rural household economy, can be considered the leading players in the development of ecotourism. This; the article is prepared as a review. To; find related documents, 12,400 articles were found using Google Scholar and the keywords "Ecotourism" and "entrepreneurship." Then, by adding the word "rural women," the number of articles decreased to 384. Then the title and abstract of the articles were examined and those related to this research were selected. Moreover, finally, the studies and investigations conducted to answer the following three questions: What is Ecotourism? Is there a connection between ecotourism and empowerment? Can Ecotourism play a role in empowering rural women? Finally, some recommendations have been presented based on the findings.