The Importance of Water Resources Ecotourism on the Tourism Development of Mountainous Areas (Case study: Hamadan province)

In recent years, ecotourism and tourism with a focus on water resources has attracted more attention. In many mountain valleys of Iran during the last fifty years, the use of natural resources, especially water, has continuously increased. A steady increase in the consumption and subsequent pressure on natural resources in the context of these areas has created serious challenges. The purpose of this study is to identify the role of water ecotourism in tourism development in mountainous areas using a descriptive - analysis approach. The weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and threats to water resources in ecotourism development were extracted through closed interviews with 20 aboriginal candidates and 30 local authorities, and were made available in the form of a questionnaire to tourists. SWOT analysis shows that among all internal factors affecting the development of ecotourism in the area of water resources, 11 factors as strengths and 8 factors as weaknesses were identified and evaluated. The analysis shows that among all external factors affecting the development of ecotourism in the area of water resources, 10 factors as external opportunities and 9 factors as external threats facing these regions were identified. Finally, using the SWOT technique it was shown that the ecotourism in the area of water resources are very robust in the considered areas (3.33 and 3.34 points in terms of internal and external factors, respectively). In the considered area, there is a good potential for the agricultural crop and livestock packaging industry, rural small industries, and tourism activities. Relying on participatory management, development, and implementation of appropriate strategies, especially competitive, we are able to use the potential of the region to create jobs and income in order to reduce the pressure on natural resources, especially water, in non-agricultural sectors. The analysis of the data indicates that water ecotourism development cause the conservation of the environment so that it can provide the most use at the lowest cost.