Formulating Creative Ecotourism Development Strategies (Case Study: the Suleghan & Kan Valley)

In accordance with the philosophy of sustainable tourism development, ecotourism emphasizes intrinsic and inner values. The demand of tourists to gain new experiences is beyond a desire to simply spend their holidays in a tourist destination. By participating in creative activities in ecotourism destinations, tourists can gain new experiences in natural tourism, called creative ecotourism. The third wave of the tourism industry, called creative tourism, is influenced by factors such as diversity of customer demand, impact of technology, and demands of local communities; therefore, introducing effective strategies for creative ecotourism is an unavoidable necessity. The main objective of this study was to introduce creative ecotourism development strategies based on the sustainable development approach by considering the potential and actual capacities of the Suleghan & Kan Valley in Tehran, where the research was carried out. In this descriptive-analytical study, the data were collected using the desk study (documentary) and field (questionnaire) methods and expert opinions. The study population consisted of 30 experts. To develop creative ecotourism development strategies, the sustainability components were first integrated into the indicators of sustainable tourism, creative tourism, creativity, and ecotourism. The authors then outlined the current situation and identified effective internal and external factors. In the next step, the strategies were extracted using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. Finally, the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) was used to prioritize the identified strategies based on their degrees of attractiveness. The attractive strategies for developing creative ecotourism in the Suleghan & Kan Valley included “Emphasizing the design of tours that combined learning and nature tourism”, “Holding ecotourism and educational tours for the tourists to experience the lifestyle of local people”, “Revising executive policies and collaborating with the youth to start new tourism businesses”, and “Using effective advertising tools to encourage the young people to take courses in handicrafts and tourism.”