Evaluation and zoning of environmental climatic parameters for tourism feasibility in northwestern Iran, located on the western border of Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and seasonally map the tourism climate of northwestern Iran using the Tourism Climate Index (TCI). In this study, climate data from 22 synoptic stations of northwestern Iran during 26 years (1993–2018) were prepared to evaluate climate comfort from a tourism perspective. In this system model, seven parameters were used: mean maximum temperature, mean temperature, mean minimum relative humidity, average relative humidity, monthly precipitation, daily mean sunshine and wind speed. For data processing, the TCI index was used to map the tourism climate map for four seasons using ArcGIS. The TCI index was used to process the data and the tourist climate map was drawn up using GIS for 12 months. The results showed that the TCI of the northwest is varied due to topography contrast throughout the year. The months of April, May, June, July, August, September and October have good to ideal conditions with a rating of 60–99 for climatic comfort. The months of November, December, January, February, and March provide inappropriate conditions with a range of 24–52. The areas (Parsabad Moughan and Jolfa) have a favourable climate in the cold months of the year and there is an inappropriate condition for tourism during the warm months. September is the most favourable month with ratings from 78 to 99 and journey is the most inappropriate month for tourism in the northwest with the rank of 24–52. Northwest of Iran, having plenty of tourist attractions, can be a source of domestic and foreign tourists. In addition to the introduction of this region to attract tourists, employment can also be achieved by the planning and management of tourism.