Desertification and ecotourism: Key planning components for the future

Given global trends, it is expected that desertification will increase worldwide. This challenge can affect different aspects of human life, and many industries worldwide will suffer from this negative global phenomenon. In this context, ecotourism, aiming for sustainable development and achieving all its goals, must seriously consider the issue of desertification and implement appropriate management plans to address it. Such planning and actions require a sufficient understanding of the factors influencing the relationship between desertification and ecotourism. From this perspective, this article intends to identify and categorize these factors in a developmental research study using qualitative data derived from a review of existing literature and a narrative review method. The results indicate that eight influential factors can be identified: tourist education, political support, economic empowerment, local community participation, use of modern technologies, stakeholder collaboration, demographic changes among tourists, and increased global environmental awareness. From this viewpoint, ecotourism must consider these factors to achieve its goals, which inherently follow the sustainable development approach. This will ensure that ecotourism not only avoids exacerbating desertification but also, in the optimal scenario, helps to prevent and slow down the process.

کلیدواژه ها:

Ecotourism ، Desertification ، Ecosystem ، Future