Evaluation and zoning of ecotourism calendar in the northwestern region of the country in the direction Development of tourism activities

Climate is one of the most important factors in determining the appropriate time for tourism and development of tourism industry. In this study, in order to evaluate and zoning the ecotourism calendar in the northwest of the country, the Riemann model and physiological equivalent temperature index (PET) have been used. For this purpose, among the synoptic stations in the region, 19 stations with a statistical period of more than 30 years (1985-2014) were selected. Then, data related to climatic parameters in daily and hourly period were received from the Meteorological Organization. The comfort conditions of tourism climate and heat and cold stresses in different days and months of the year were evaluated using PET index and then zoned in GIS environment. The results showed that in most parts of the northwestern region, such as the cities of Tabriz, Urmia and Zanjan, there is almost a similar trend in tourism climate. In these cities, the best time for tourism activities is from mid-May to late June and from early September to mid-October. In contrast, in July and August for a very short period of low intensity heat stress and from late October to mid-April there are cold stresses with different intensities. But in mountainous areas such as Ardabil, Khalkhal, Sarab and Meshkinshahr, the tourist climate calendar is somewhat different; In these areas, the climate comfort period begins in early June and continues until mid-September. In these areas, during the summer months, there are very ideal climatic conditions for tourism activities.