| چکیده انگلیسی مقاله |
A B S T R A C T Background and Aim: One of the main economic concerns of the country and policy-making is the creation of stability in border areas and regional areas, to deal with problems such as unemployment, low agricultural productivity, increasing migration to cities, and marginalization through it. The ecotourism development industry in these areas can solve these problems. This study aims to provide a model to identify the Results of ecotourism development in border areas of Kurdistan province. Methodology: In terms of methodology, this research is mixed research that is done with content analysis and Delphi methods. In the content analysis method, data collection was performed using library studies and in the Delphi method, data collection was performed using a questionnaire survey in three rounds. The research community in the content analysis method includes all texts related to the research topic and in the Delphi method, includes eco-tourism industry experts. The sampling method was complete enumeration in the content analysis method and snowball sampling in the Delphi method. Results: In the Delphi method, 30 experts collaborated with researchers until the end of the third round. In the Delphi method, 22 new indicators were identified, and finally, after three Delphi rounds, 45 indicators were approved by experts, and 9 were not approved. Conclusion: The research model includes three dimensions (Political, Economic, and Social results), 21 components, and 45 indicators. Paying attention to the model proposed in this research and its practical suggestions can lead to a better understanding of the need to develop the ecotourism industry in the border areas of Iran Extended Abstract Introduction Different countries, including Iran, spend huge amounts of money every year on border control, as well as fighting against fuel, drug and goods smuggling, and also crimes in border areas; Considering the positive results of the development of the eco-tourism industry in the border areas in terms of creating sustainable employment and fairer distribution of income among the local people, the development of eco-tourism in these areas can not only reduce the costs of border control, but also reduce the occurrence of crimes in the areas. The border areas of Kurdistan province have unique natural landscapes, historical works and monuments, and diverse cultural attractions in terms of attracting tourists, and by taking advantage of these valuable and diverse capabilities they are important as economic resources in the tourism industry. Based on the reviewed studies, it can be said that although some researches examine the role of tourism as a new source for creating employment, earning income, more tax receipts, attracting currency and strengthening social infrastructure, which leads to the growth and development of other industries. However, few studies have addressed "the model of the development of the ecotourism industry in the border areas of Kurdistan province", so there was a knowledge gap in this field. Therefore, the main goal of the current study is to provide a model for developing the resultants of the ecotourism industry in the border areas of the Kurdistan province in Iran. Research method The current research is a practical research in terms of research purpose, and a descriptive research, based on data collection, and a qualitative research in terms of approach. Content analysis and Delphi methods were used to collect data. The content analysis method has been used to identify the results of ecotourism development in the border areas and extract the initial research model, and the Delphi method has been used to verify the indicators of the Delphi stage and the development of the research model. In the search of domestic databases, the keywords of tourism industry, tourism, border tourism, border areas and Border were used separately and in combination. At first, the articles were reviewed based on the title and abstract. The entry criteria of the articles included: 1. all articles published about the tourism industry in border areas, 2. the presence of keywords or their equivalent in the title or abstract, 3. the articles were in Farsi and English. From the beginning, the scope of the selected articles was very wide, which made the articles suitable to the research questions and objectives to be screened and the articles that passed all the screens to be studied and reviewed. After a complete search in all the mentioned databases, 800 documents (books and articles) were found. In the review of the abstract, the subject of the abstracts of the articles was carefully examined and those that were irrelevant or limited were removed, and at this stage 200 articles were removed and 200 articles remained; In the next step, the articles that were selected based on the abstract were thoroughly reviewed to check whether the content of each article can be used to answer the research questions; Finally, in the review of all articles, 78 articles were removed and 122 related articles remained. Results and discussion Based on the findings of this research, unlike previous researches that have analyzed the results of the development of the cross-border ecotourism industry in a one-dimensional way; the development of the eco-tourism industry brings multiple results. One of the reasons for this difference is the interdisciplinary nature of the tourism industry, which has made each researcher emphasize different dimensions. According to the findings of this research, ecotourism in border areas deals with multi-faceted goals, i.e. protecting the environment, respecting local communities and promoting the cultural-social, economic and political components of these areas. In eco-tourism, the continuation of long-term benefits is important, in this regard, increasing the participation of local people (host community), maintaining social integrity and respect for local culture, compatibility of sustainable tourism programs with other local, regional and national planning. It is considered among the tourism goals of these areas. Tourism development in border areas can play a major role in empowering local people, developing human resources, diversity and economic growth, as well as creating new job opportunities. The development of border tourism can guarantee the well-being and comfort of the people if it is accompanied by the support of the legislators and the financial support of the industry and entrepreneurs in these areas; The state of the social welfare level of the local people and the lack of creating a suitable platform is a big obstacle for the development of the eco-tourism industry. The results of this research are consistent with the results of some previous researches (Mojtahedzadeh, 2000, Najafi et all, 2021, Rahimi et al. 2022). Conclusion Border tourism plays an important role in communication with the international community and especially neighbor countries; In this regard, the cooperation of private sector tourism organizations and relevant government organizations in the border areas provide the possibility to obtain competitive advantages compared to other areas that are further away from the border. According to the results of this research, it is suggested that the legislative and executive powers in Iran provide legal and executive support in areas such as facilitating the start-up of businesses in border ecotourism areas and attractive tax discounts for tourism businesses. Marzi in the early years of its establishment, lead investors and entrepreneurs to border ecotourism areas. Also, considering the role of the development of the eco-tourism industry in the border areas in reducing smuggling, the necessary budget should be considered for equipping and improving the necessary infrastructure of the tourism industry in the border areas; because this budget is considered as an investment to deal with smuggling and its negative economic and social consequences. Funding There is no funding support. Authors’ Contribution All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work. Conflict of Interest Authors declared no conflict of interest. Acknowledgments We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper. |