Investigating the role of tourism in Zagros mountain caves on the development of sustainable geotourism in the region

Ali Sadr and Ghori Qaleh cave, located in the Zagros Mountains as geological (geomorphological)phenomena, due to having a competitive aesthetic advantage are a good opportunity to attract tourists and at the same time improve the living standards of the host community.  The important point is the sustainable development in these areas. because of the importance of this issue, 2017 was named the World Year of Sustainable Tourism. Based on the studies, the necessary components for achieving sustainable geo-tourism was identified and questions were formulated to answer the main research question.  In order to achieve sustainable geo tourism as a subset of ecotourism, infrastructure factors, income generation for local people, natural heritage conservation and environmental protection, and finally the satisfaction of tourists were questioned in the form of a questionnaire. This research is a descriptive-analytical type that we analyzed the criteria using SPSS software. and using Friedman ranking we evaluated the internal and external factors of both sites and compared them in order to evaluate their current status. From the research findings, after examining the criteria of internal and external factors of the two sites, it appears that the development created in the two sites, although it has attracted a significant number of tourists, but the measures taken to achieve sustainable development and this in  Ali Sadr Cave development is more true because development measurement taken in Ghori Qaleh cave is not very considerable and comparing the current situation of the two caves can guide us in adopting the correct and principled method of development by observing the principle of its stability during the development of the Ghori Qaleh cave and  We help to prevent possible further destruction during the development of the sites and in the post-development phase when the sites are used by tourists and local people. In addition, in our planning, special attention should be paid to providing employment opportunities for local people.  And to compensate the damages to the sites as much as possible.  The last point is that principled and sustainable development increases the chances of these two sites and similar sites for world registration as natural heritage.