Abstract
Despite the fact that the Fann Mountains are among the most popular tourist destinations in Tajikistan, they are still in the first stage of tourism development. This represents a great opportunity for the implementation of the principles of sustainable tourism, which will avoid the mistakes associated with the uncontrolled tourism development currently observed in other mountain areas of the world. The aim of this article is to demonstrate, using the example of the Fann Mountains, how hydrogeosites in mountain areas can be valorised for the needs of cognitive tourism. The valorisation methods used in previous research to this point have focused on the evaluation of the objects themselves. This study additionally takes into account features of the surroundings of hydrogeostations, such as the visibility range, the vertical development of the view, and the diversity of the landscape. The conducted value assessments of the sites and their surroundings show that in both internal and external assessments the highest values were achieved by lakes and wetlands. This means that the evaluation of the surroundings has a strong influence on the results obtained and the choice of hydrogeotourism attractions.
Highlights
Today, global environmental changes are very dynamic, and one of the main factors causing them is human activity [1]
The study area is located in the Fann Mountains in the Zarafshan Range (NW Tajikistan), which is in the western part of Pamiro-Alay
After the hydrogeological value of the sites has been scientifically recognised, the evaluation of their geotourism value should be repeated. It will fully reveal the suitability of these sites for tourism development
Summary
Global environmental changes are very dynamic, and one of the main factors causing them is human activity [1]. The educational function of tourism is widely used today and ecological awareness is shaped through communing with nature. This contact is one reason why we need to take care of the natural environment [5,6]. In the face of dynamic environmental changes caused by human activity, tourism should play an important educational role. It may have a positive influence because tourism combines entertainment with education, shaping attitudes and sensitivity towards contemporary environmental problems
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