Application of the Holiday Climate Index (HCI) in Determining the Winter Tourism Calendar (Case study: Sistan and Baluchestan Province)

The climate of each region plays a very important role in mapping the future directions of tourism development, and climate assessment in the estimation of natural tourism capabilities is a priority. The HCI index evaluates climatic conditions for tourism activity using the parameters of mean maximum temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, cloud cover and wind speed. In this study, using the HCI index and comparing its results with the TCI index, the tourism climate in Sistan and Baluchestan province has been evaluated. In fact, the aim of the study is to evaluate the efficiency of the HCI index in assessing the tourism climate of the region.In this research, the index was calculated for seven synoptic stations in the province with a common 24-year statistic (1991-2015). After entering the results into the Geographical Information System (GIS) environment, the classification of the tourism climate of the province in the months of October, November, December, January, February, and Mars was carried out and the variations in the ten-day index value were shown in the form of charts and maps.Based on the results of the HCI index in winter months, this province has excellent weather conditions. According to the above findings, the HCI index has the ability to provide the status of the winter tourism climate of the province, considering the motivation of different tourists to travel.. Also, the results showed that the HCI index was more consistent with the climate of the province than other indicators of the tourism climate, such as the TCI index. In order to adapt and improve the HCI index in the geographical conditions of Iran, this index was modified. These changes in the index, which both capture the climate parameters used in the index as well as the formula, resulted in a new formula called "Modified Holiday Climate Index" (MHCI). The results can be used for proper planning of tourism planning in other regions of Iran, and it will lead to tourism development in the province and the country.