Damavand

 Second homes tourism is one of the patterns of tourism expansion especially in rural and mountainous areas that is achieved through the expansion of the ownership of second homes (upcountry or holiday homes). Despite the relatively long history of second homes in rural areas, second home tourism has recently experienced a resurgence, often due to new patterns of production and economic consumption. The purpose of this study was to investigate the second homes in tourism in Damavand. The city has been attracted by tourists, especially homeowners, due to its specific geographical location, such as the countryside, beautiful highlands and valleys, lack of pollution in the cities, and its terms of its easy access to this city. Descriptive and analytical research method and processing of 127 questionnaires in SPSS environment showed that there is a significant relationship between second homes and tourism development.

This research studied the Damavand mountain as a unique geological phenomenon in Amol County, Mazandaran Province with a special view on its role in sustainable tourism development. The methodological process was based on: the inventory and preliminary selection of geosite, a semi-quantitative geosite assessment, and the application of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) matrix to establish geotourism development strategies within a sustainability framework. Based on studies done, Damavand mountain is a real geosite with high geo-touristic potential which include: water fall, hot spring, glacier,volcanic crater which are a geological heritage with outstanding scientific, cultural, touristic ,industrial,and educational values. According to the results of the IELIG method in this study, the geosite of Damavand has ‘very high’ interest values considering their scientific, academic, and tourist interests and has the necessary conditions for geotourism development. The SWOT analysis reveals that travel itineraries that combine cultural heritage elements and geosites could offer a real alternative for the region’s sustainable development through geotourism.