Landscapes of the Yazd-Ardakan Plain (Iran) and the Assessment of Geotourism—Contribution to the Promotion and Practice of Geotourism and Ecotourism

Abstract

The attractions and capabilities of geomorphosites are among the unique assets of each country, and their identification, classification, and planning have great importance for the development of tourism. The purpose of this research was to identify, quantitatively analyse, and classify landforms treated as geosites and landscapes of Yazd Province, using the Pralong method. The present study is a descriptive analytical research based on library studies and field surveys. After determining the study area using satellite imagery, six geomorphosites were selected. Using the Pralong method, six geomorphosites were evaluated: Chak Chak, Mountain Eagle, Siahkooh, Shirkooh, Qanat, and Barfkhane Tezerjan. In this method, using the extraction of collected data from the questionnaires completed by 41 geotourism experts in the first stage, the four grades that were evaluated in terms of potential capability of geomorphosites include the appearance aesthetic, scientific, historical-cultural, and socio-economic variables, and in the next step, two variables of productivity value and quality of productivity were evaluated. The results of evaluations showed that the geomorphosites Chak Chak and Barfkhane Tezerjan had the highest score (0.62) and are the best geomorphosites for converting to geotourism and ecotourism applications, and they have high potential for attracting tourists. The second place was dedicated to the Shirkooh geomorphosite, which is considerable in terms of the average tourism grade. The best average productivity value belonged to the Chak Chak geomorphosite with 0.52, and the last one was Mountain Eagle with 0.32. All six attractions in this study had a medium grade in the qualitative scale index, meaning that they have good potential in geotouristic and ecotouristic points of view and could be improved by regional planning. Therefore, the results of this study can be used by local managers and planners to develop and promote geotourism and ecotourism.