Economic valuation of natural promenades in Iran using zonal travel costs method (Case study area: Gahar Lake in Lorestan Province in western Iran).

ABSTRACT: Gahar Lake is located within Oshtorankooh Protected Area (east of Lorestan Province in Iran), which has extensive potentials for the development of the tourism industry. The aim of the present research was to determine the economic value of the Gohar Lake resort using the zonal travel cost method. Therefore, at first, 380 questionnaires were distributed among the tourists by the simple random sampling method based on appropriate spatiotemporal distribution during the visiting seasons. The questionnaire items were categorized as economic, social, and miscellaneous parts. The calculation results revealed a value of USD 84.538 per visitor and a value of USD 1,986,657.163 per year, indicating the high value and importance of the region. The analysis showed that socio-economic variables have a

SUBMITTER: Kheyri E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7641445 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature