Presentation of a Model of Site Assessment and Ecotourism Planning in Protected Areas with an Ecological Carrying Capacity Approach

Today, ecotourism is referred to as a tool that seeks to realize the pleasures and benefits of tourism, but strives not to diminish the natural and ecological value of the area. The purpose of this study is to determine the effective criteria for ecotourism site evaluation and ecological board capacity to plan for ecotourism in Shahrood protected areas.

In the first step, site evaluation criteria were compiled and rated by experts. Fitting was done by LISREL software. The data layers were then weighted and overlapped by pairwise comparison. Subsequently, zoning was carried out to determine the area and capacity of the physical real and effective range for ecotourism.

The final model of ecotourism evaluation consists of 8 dimensions and 20 criteria. The model fit was good and acceptable (GFI 0.942). It is also suitable for ecotourism at 66474 hectares. The study area consists of 3 areas of mountain forest, mountain and plain and desert. The effective range for the mountainous forest area is 1743 and for the mountainous and plain area is 1765 and for the desert zone is 3123.

In Shahrood city protected areas, environmental board capacity is not observed and is more than threshold tolerance. As a result, ecotourism needs to be at the forefront of tourism planning in the area of ​​conservation principles.