Abstract:

Iran is a rich country in terms of natural, historical and cultural resources that would be suitable for ecotourism development. Despite its many valuable attractions and growth potential, Iranian ecotourism has faced various problems and obstacles that have slowed or even prevented its expansion. Therefore, the objective of this study is to qualitatively identify the current challenges and problems in the development of ecotourism in Iran. Research findings enhance our understanding of the current problems of ecotourism development in Iran that need to be rigorously investigated in the future and before any development planning projects. The challenges and problems that will introduce in this paper are obtained by reviewing secondary data sources in the field of ecotourism and are classified into 6 different categories. Study results indicated that governance, management and planning issues are the most important challenges facing the Iranian ecotourism industry.

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