Özet:

Ecotourism, unlike mass tourism, is a sustainable alternative tourism that can protect natural and cultural landscape values and historical sources of sensitive landscapes and ensures its ecological integrity. Ecotourism, which takes into account the balance of conservation and use, supports the sustainable use of resources. In this context, raising awareness of visitors and local people may lead to a decrease in urban pressure, visitor impact and environmental problems on natural and cultural landscape values that provide resources to ecotourism. Within the scope of this research, Masuleh village, which is close to the Hazar Sea, surrounded by Alborz mountains and forests, has cultural and historical heritage value and preserves its local architectural structure, has been determined as the study area. These natural and cultural landscape values of Masuleh, which was included in the list of historical heritage by UNESCO in 2007, are under threat due to the confusion of authority in the management structure. The aim of this study is to determine the ecotourism criteria that have ecotourism resources for Masuleh and to determine the ecotourism strategies that ensure the sustainability of these sensitive landscape values. In this context, a field study and literature review was carried out, and a questionnaire integrating the Best-Worst Method (HCM), which is one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods, and SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) Analysis applied with local people and experts. As a result of the survey, the ecotourism criteria consisting of 4 main and 20 sub-ecotourism criteria were ranked according to their priorities. As a result, the criterion of opportunities criteria "inclusion in the UNESCO's Historical Heritage Site tentative list" was determined as an ecotourism strategy that should be evaluated as a priority. The methods and outputs of this study can set an example in determining the ecotourism strategies of similar study areas.

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