Investigating contributory factor to the demand for Bird Watching Tourism, Case of Miankaleh Wetland, Mazandaran Provience

Bird watching is one the growing sectors in ecotourism markets. Ecotourism as a new approach in nature based tourism has been of great importance in tourism development plans for most countries in recent decades. Due to the diversity of habitats, especially wetlands, Iran has two-thirds of the Middle East birds; but its share of global Bird watching is limited compared to other countries. The main objective of this study is emphasizing importance of Bird watching as a way to protect bird's habitats in wetland ecosystems through considering demand and investigating contributory factors in Miankaleh Wetland as one of the most important wetland ecosystem of Iran. Results indicate that all elements have positive impacts on attracting Bird watchers; but there is a meaningful difference in their priorities.Key Words: ecotourism, wetland, Bird watching, marketing mix, Miankaleh