Geotourism potential assessment of Nir County and its economic development using quantitative methods

Document Type : Original Research Articles

Authors

1 Professor of Geomorphology, Department of Natural Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

2 PhD student of Geomorphology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

3 Bachelor of Geomorphology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

4 Master of Science Geomorphology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

Abstract

Geotourism is a combination of the words earth and tourism and refers to tourism that has geological, morphological and cultural attractions. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the geotourism capabilities and geomorphological destinations of Nir County for economic development. The nature of this research is descriptive-analytical-applied and to investigate the geotourism potentials of the Nir region, dynamic models that examine geomorphosites based on three scientific, added and combined values were used; the Feulet model which is based on four criteria of origin of formation, geographical distribution, tourism and accessibility status and finally the Kubalíková model which emphasizes scientific, educational, economic, conservation and cultural criteria was used. The results of the evaluation based on the national park model, dynamic model, and Kubalíková model showed that the Nir geomorphosite has the highest value in the category of displaying geomorphological processes with a score of 5 and the lowest value in the category of educational benefits with a score of 0.40. Also, this area has a high value in the geological feature index with cultural heritage value from the visitors' point of view, with a score of 1, and has a low value in the diversity index in geomorphological forms with a score of 0.11. In general, among all the geomorphosites in Nir county, the Bulaghlar resort has received the highest score from experts and visitors, and the Pol-e-Germez region has the lowest score. Therefore, it is concluded that the Nir region has unique capabilities in the field of geotourism based on the results of the evaluation models, and this has led to the economic development of the region at the provincial level. Finally, it is suggested that artificial intelligence tools be used in future studies to better and more appropriately evaluate the study areas.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Geography and Regional Future Studies
Volume 3, Issue 3 - Serial Number 11
Autumn
December 2025
Pages 137-156

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