Tourism Development of Bola Forests with Emphasis on Sustainable Ecological Management of the Region(SWOT-AHP Method)

The ecotourism industry has become a powerful tool for investment in developing and developed countries. The north forests of Iran are highly regarded by the authorities due to their many and unique attractions as one of the potentials for attracting tourists. Therefore, this expansion and development must be accompanied by minimal ecological and environmental consequences in order to maintain the expected goals in the tourism industry and the ecological potential of the environment in the long run. This study investigate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the sustainable development of tourism in Bola forest located in Mazandaran province. For this purpose, the SWOT and prioritize them using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and finally the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) has been used to determine strategies. The results of evaluation of strengths and weaknesses from internal factors showed a total value of 1.89 and evaluation of opportunities and threats from external factors showed a value of 0.93.Which states that the Bola forest is in a relatively weak position in terms of strengths - weaknesses and opportunities – threats and the threats are a little more than the opportunities around them. Due to the intersection of the values obtained from the matrix of evaluation of external and internal factors, the appropriate strategy in tourism management of Bola forest was located in the defensive zone. In other words,