Geotourism and geopark development in Iran : exploratory analysis of opportunities and challenges
Yari, Parvin (Universitat Rovira i Virgili)
Saladié, Òscar (Universitat Rovira i Virgili)
Díaz Soria, Inmaculada (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geografia)

Publicació:	València : Universitat de València, 2024
Resum:	The abundance and diversity of geological phenomena in Iran - which geologists have labeled a "1. 5 million km2 geological museum" - makes this country a paradise for naturebased tourism. For more than 20 years, theoretical and practical efforts have been made to introduce and develop the concept of geo-heritage and geo-tourism in Iran. Together with the country's rich cultural features, introducing geographical areas in the larger context of geoparks have been considered by geologists. The first geopark in Iran and in the Middle East joined the Global Network of Geoparks (GGN) in 2006, and two other geoparks were signed as members of the GGN by 2023. In 2016, UNESCO defined "geoparks" as areas larger than a pedestrian distance, where the same or different types of geo-sites exist together with all other aspects of the area's natural, cultural and intangible heritages. These areas which have significant geo-scientific, cultural, social, economic, historical and anthropological potential for tourism are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. This study aims at analyzing the importance of geo-tourism and geoparks in Iran; and to consider the country's historical and gradual geo-tourism development to define the preliminary results in terms of opportunities and main challenges. For this purpose, exploratory research of conducted scientific publications obtained from archives have been analyzed by focusing on information on the geographical, geological, administrative and sociological aspects of geo-tourism areas to characterize strategies for geo-heritage conservation and geoparks in Iran during the 2001-2023 period. The findings allow us to realize that taking advantage of the geoheritage potential to create geoparks and expanding geotourism opportunities within this framework is considered to be one of the important means of promoting sustainable tourism development in Iran. We discovered several challenges when applying sustainable tourism development principles at the operational level, including the management of geoheritages sites and a lack of general policies. Despite this, however providing a snapshot of the geosociological landscape and discussing several regional opportunities, pathways and practical attempts will lead to prosperous sustainable tourism development in Iran.
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Col·lecció:	Estudios y Documentos de Desarrollo Local 43
Document:	Capítol de llibre
Matèria:	Geo-Sociological ; Sustainability ; UNESCO Global Geoparks ; Geological Heritage ; Middle East
Publicat a:	Repensando los destinos turísticos en tiempos de cambio global, 2024, p. 97-116, ISBN 978-84-9133-737-9

Adreça original: https://hdl.handle.net/10550/102323

20 p, 538.8 KB

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