Analysis of Local Capacities for Ecotourism Development in Bangelayan Village in Bandar Abbas County of Iran

In this research, local capacities of Bangelayan village in Bandar Abbas County of Iran were measured on the basis of two concepts of tourism product and community-based ecotourism in order to provide ecotourism for tourists. It was an applied study in terms of purpose, a descriptive-analytical study in terms of methodology and a quantitative-qualitative study in terms of data nature. The required data was collected by calculating the indices in two dimensions of field studies through questionnaires (359 tourists and 15 elite and experts) and the obtained information of relevant organizations. The sample size was measured by Cochran's formula and simple random sampling of tourists as well as elite and expert questionnaires according to the questioner's view and the snowball sampling. The reliability of questionnaire was also calculated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The study results showed that Bangelayan village had a number of good capacities for ecotourism development in terms of tourism attractions and social conditions, but the lack of facilities and services as well as weaknesses of organizations and institutions had caused the area to have low penetration, durability and tourism density coefficients.