Effective parameters in determining the suitability of ecotourism target destinations: A systematic review

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

2 Department of Natural Engineering Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Yasouj University

3 Ph.D. Student in Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

Abstract
In this study, using the systematic review method of scientific-research works, studies on determining the suitability of ecotourism were reviewed in the Normags, Comprehensive Portal of Humanities and Scholar databases with the aim of determining the appropriate parameters for zoning areas for the development of ecotourism in the period 1390 to 1404. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of articles in the study, 100 studies were finally selected for review. The results show that the parameters used to determine the suitability of ecotourism in the studies under review can be categorized into 33 parameters, of which 13 of these parameters can be separated into more general headings that include 53 sub-parameters. The percentage of occurrence of parameters can be divided into three groups: 40 to 70 percent, 10 to 40 percent, and less than 10 percent. In group one, with an occurrence percentage of 40 to 70 percent, 15 percent of the parameters and subparameters are included. In this parameter group, the parameters of slope, diversity and density of vegetation, road network, proximity to settlements, and altitude above sea level are included with an occurrence percentage of 70, 61, 58, 54, and 50, respectively. In the third group, about 60 percent of the parameters and subparameters have a probability of occurrence of 1 percent, or in other words, they were used only in one study. The parameters were divided into four categories: ecological, physical-spatial and infrastructural, cultural-social, aesthetic and managerial, economic and planning, and the order of their occurrence percentages was 33.33, 33.33, 9, 21.21, and 1 percent. In other words, researchers assigned equal value and importance to the two parameter categories: ecological and physical-spatial and infrastructural. This study will help researchers to use more widely used and important parameters to determine the suitability of areas for ecotourism development.

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