Applying an integrated approach to evaluating ecotourism capabilities in Margavar district, northwest Iran
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Abstract
Ecotourism considered as purposeful travel to the natural and cultural history of nature to understand the environment by avoiding change Ecosystems, environmental degradation, and creating economic opportunities. Moreover, this is one of the new sources of social activities in the field of sustainable development. Our study aims to assess and mapping the ecotourism capabilities of the Margavar rural district, in northwest Iran. In this regard, a set of associated factors were considered. Hence, we want to evaluate the ecotourism capabilities through an integrated approach using the Analytic Network Process (ANP) method, VIKOR technique, Geographic Information System (GIS), and considering the environmental and tourism criteria. A Fuzzy gamma operator was used to overlay the weighted maps and the ecotourism map was obtained. The overall results indicated that 14.50% of the study area is located in a very high potential class, 26.32% in a high potential class, 32% in a moderate potential class, 18% in a low potential class, and 9.18% in a Very low potential class. Due to the pristine nature of the study area and the need to create new investment opportunities, our findings can be useful in identifying the ecotourism potentials of the region and achieving a higher level of local development.
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