Reza Kheyroddin; Mohammad Abbaspour kalmarzi
Abstract
Impassable mountainous regions are one of the significant destinations for tourists, which due to arduous accessibility, are neglected to visit. The best way to reach these regions would be the railways, owing to their conservative nature which protects the environment and significant settlements and ...
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Impassable mountainous regions are one of the significant destinations for tourists, which due to arduous accessibility, are neglected to visit. The best way to reach these regions would be the railways, owing to their conservative nature which protects the environment and significant settlements and also reduces pollution and non-native population. By having this to account, the main goal of this research would be explaining the role of ecological tourism planning in impassable mountainous regions by railways.Tehran-Mazandaran railway is chosen as the case of this study in light of its antiquity, settlement growth in heart of the mountain, and presence of railway tourism. In order to recognize and explore the existent stations and adjacent habitations, the documentary and libraries along with field surveys and questionnaires and interviews were used to inform the stakeholders and actors of this research. Then, using these items, the development model of the region was developed.In this development, railway stations provide the role of tourism development center in an area. The stations with the highest development capacity were selected as the centers for the development of ecological tourism. By forming a tourism complex including natural, rural and historical attractions, these centers play a central role in the development of the region and grow their surrounding areas by creating a tourism network. With this action, in addition to the economic development of settlements and the prosperity of tourism, the protection and maintenance of the environment is also done in the best way, and thus ecological tourism is realized in mountainous areas with the focus on the railway route.
