Assessing the capability of ecotourism development based on ecology and management titration in Abbas Abad wildlife refuge

Presently, significant growth of ecotourism is due to its special place in scientific and economic communities as well as the positive impact on environmental attitudes, sustainable development and revenue. The aims of this study are to develop a method based on field studies and questionnaire, to evaluate the ecotourism development potential in Abbas Abad wildlife refuge. According to field surveys and experts’ opinion, ecological value of the biosite was estimated using sum of scientific and supplement criteria. Then, its management value was achieved using sum of protection and efficiency criteria. Results revealed that Abbas Abad biosite with a value of 15.6 has high potential for development of sustainable ecotourism. Mean values of ecological and management criteria are9.05 and 6.01, respectively, and supplement criteria with amount of 93.55% has the highest value. In the scientific criteria, indices of the rare species of animals and plants, and the biological attractions and geotourism phenomena introduced in magazines, respectively, with values of 1 and 0.5 have been allocated the maximum score. Therefore, with the introduction of the ecology and management values of Abbas Abad wildlife refuge and planning according to its capabilities, the biosite can become a top destination for tourists and nature lovers.