Environmental Impacts of Ecotourism and Their Management using Visitors’ Experiences (Case Study: Choghakhoor International Wetland in Iran)

Ecotourism, to be successful, must promote sustainable development by establishing a durable productive base that allows local inhabitants and ecotourist service providers to enjoy rising standards of living. However, to achieve this goal, the adverse effects of visitor activity on the natural environment and the tourism experience must be identified to guide management actions and thus to sustain the resources on which ecotourism ultimately depends. This study, conducted in Iran, efforts to identify the impacts of ecotourism from the perspective of visitors. Environmental conditions of greatest influence on visitors’ experiences included litter and biophysical conditions such as soil erosion and vegetation damage. These conditions were of greater concern to visitors than social conditions, such as the number of people. These results suggest that management efforts can be directed towards indicators of greatest concern such as litter, soil erosion and vegetation damage. The broad support given by those surveyed for a range of management actions provides managers with a choice of strategies to sustain ecotourism in Choghakhoor International wetland in Iran. This study, with its sociopolitical approach, contributes to a greater understanding of the implications of the ecotourist experience for ecotourism management in Iran.

کلیدواژه ها:

Ecotourism ، Environmental impact of ecotourism ، Choghakhoor International wetland