Ecological footprint of the tourism in the rural area Case study: Veshnaveh village (Qom County)

Therefore, many empirical studies and actions have been taken to exploit the concept of sustainable development and its evaluation models. However, despite all these measures, the results from the progress towards sustainability have not been favorable. On the other hand, the first studies in the country indicate that there are major challenges in achieving sustainable tourism development, especially in the villages of tourism destination. In this research, it has been tried to investigate the environmental impact of the tourism on the village of Voshveh by a descriptive-analytical method, based on documentary library studies as well as field observations (distribution of the questionnaire and interview with the village council and tourists). The model of the ecological footprint model is estimated. The statistical population of this research is the number of tourists who visited Voshveh village in 2012. Considering that in the year 2012, 10,000 tourists entered the village, so using the Cochran formula, the sample size was estimated to be 350. The findings of this study indicate that the ecological footprints of tourism in the village of Wandshwa in food, transport, heating, water, electricity, and waste generation groups were 1.08 (per capita of each tourist) ha. Comparing this amount with its supporting environment indicates that tourism in the village of Wandshwa relies on an area beyond the village to meet its biological and environmental sustainability needs.