Evaluation of tourism land capabilities in the southwest of Binaloud Mountain, Khorasan Razavi

Different regions in Iran have the potential to become a geo-tourism destination because of the high geo-diversity. Therefore, this is also a strategy of development to increase employment through the tourism industry in diverse, entertaining and attractive natural places.  

This research aims to investigate the capabilities of geo-tourism and provide solutions to help practitioners of development projects in the region to attract tourists by expanding and preparing the land for tourism.

The method of research and data collection was a field study, interviews with local people and analysis of library documents, using geological maps, topography and satellite images in order to prepare the required maps and determine the exact location of geo-sites. Statistical methods were used to prepare maps and (GIS) for the location of sites. In the second stage, after selecting the sites, they were prioritized in the Komansko model and evaluated according to the points table. Considering the large number of sites in the region, only 35 sites have been scientifically analyzed.                                              

Geographical Context: 

The scope of the study was the southwestern slopes of the Binalud Mountains (northwest region of Neyshabur and Firouzeh City) from the mountains of the north of Khorasan Razavi Province.

The findings and discussion with the Komansko model and comparison with the parallel comparative model show a meaningful and close match in the scores of the sites. According to the overall values of the geo-sites, the turquoise mine (7000 years old), with a score of 87%, ranks first, Jaryani Bar waterfall ranks second with 83%, and Salt Mine ranks third with 81%. In the evaluation of the geo-site, only 6 of them have a rating of less than 50%.

Finally, due to the existence of different tourist sites and the possibility of visiting different tourist attractions in different seasons of the year, this region has the potential to become a national geo-tourism hot spot. However, in practice, it requires cultural measures and infrastructure.