Tourism Management Studies

Environmental Impacts Assessment of Ecotourism Development in Wetland of Tiab

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Azam Rahimi 1
Mohammad Akbarian 2
Abbas Moradi 3

1 Master’s Degree, Ecotourism, Department of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Hormozgan, Bandarabbas, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Hormozgan, Bandarabbas, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Geographical Sciences, faculty of Humanities, University of Hormozgan, Bandarabbas, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/tms.2024.79133.2928
Abstract
This study was conducted on the Minab-Tiab Wetland in Hormozgan province to evaluate the impacts of nature tourism on different components of the wetland. The study used a modified RIAM method and sustainable development model to evaluate four environments of the wetland, including physicochemical, biological-ecological, sociological-cultural, and economic-operational components. The results showed that nature tourism would have a slight negative impact on the physicochemical environment and a moderate negative impact on the biological-ecological environment. On the other hand, it would have a major positive impact on the sociological-cultural and economic-operational environments. However, the study also revealed that the physicochemical and biological-ecological environments were not very stable, while the sociological-cultural and economic-operational environments were highly stable. In Minab-Tiab Wetland, nature tourism is associated with positive effects on the sociological-cultural and economic-operational components of the environment, but it can also have a negative impact on environmental sustainability.

Keywords

ecotourism
environmental impacts
Tiab wetland
RIAM model
sustainable development
Subjects
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Tourism Management Studies
Volume 19, Issue 67
Summer 2024
Pages 197-242

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