Analysis of the challenges and solutions of development of bird tourism in Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Natural attractions of wildlife, especially birds, should be
considered as a good opportunity to develop the tourism industry, especially that
by replacing the bird-hunting culture with bird-watching, we can help preserve
and protect this natural asset. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify
challenges and solutions for the development of bird watching tourism in Iran.
Materials & Methods: This research is applied in terms of purpose, descriptive
in terms of data collection and qualitative in terms of approach. The statistical
population includes experts in the field of bird tourism. The sampling method is
the snowball method and 16 experts were interviewed and the data were examined
by content analysis method.
Results: Experts believe that for the development of this industry, there are
environmental, cultural, economic and welfare, management and advertising
marketing challenges. Also identified strategies are 1- empowerment strategies
including culture building, continuing education, advertising and marketing,
promotion of bird watching entrepreneurship, participation of indigenous people
and effective management of tourism organizations and 2- capacity building
strategies, including the provision of tourism infrastructure, facilitating the legal
movement of foreign tourists, improving environmental conditions, sustainable
security, targeted investment and enhancing hospitality capacity.
Conclusion: Wildlife attraction is one of the natural attractions that has been
neglected. There are many challenges to the development of bird watching
tourism in Iran such as the lack of a well-planned program by organizations, the
lack of amenities, services and health for tourists, the lack of accommodation units
and poor financial infrastructure. This research showed to solve these challenges
and develop bird watching tourism in Iran, multiple help is needed from the
government, local institutions and the people.