Journal of Sustainable Urban & Regional Development Studies (JSURDS)

Abstract Background and Objective: Geotourism is a type of sustainable tourism that emphasizes education and protection of geological and geomorphological attractions in addition to them. Geotourism is one of the important aspects of ecotourism with a responsible and conservation-oriented approach; which emphasizes popularizing earth sciences and the cultural, social, and economic development of the local community. The purpose of this study is to assess the ecotourism potential of natural areas of the tourist village Shtibin is in East Azerbaijan Province.
Methodology: The method of this research is the use of two quantitative models: Kobalikva and Feulet. Kobalikva's method, which emphasizes scientific, educational, economic, conservation and cultural criteria, and Feulet's model, which examines geotourism areas based on four criteria: origin of formation, geographical distribution, tourism and accessibility, was also used.
Results and findings: The results showed that based on the evaluation of the Kobalikva model, the Aras tourist region, with the highest score of 4.5, has a high potential among the studied areas. The results also showed that terraced houses, with a total score of 2.5, have the least development among the studied areas. The results of the national park model showed that among the studied areas, Arasbaran forests have the highest score of 10.25. Therefore, it is concluded that, based on the aforementioned models, the Aras and Arasbaran forests have a high potential for tourism development in East Azerbaijan Province. Finally, it is suggested that artificial intelligence tools be used in future studies to assess the ecotourism potential of the regions.

Abstract Background and Objective: Tourism as a modern phenomenon has an economic nature and has a special role and importance for countries that have this capacity. Geotourism is a combination of the words "geo" meaning earth and "tourism" meaning tourism. The purpose of this research is to evaluate geotourism potentials and its management in the tourist area of ​​East Azerbaijan province.
Methodology: The research method in this study is based on three models: Kobalikova, Kirchner and GEM. In the Kobalikova and Kirchner model, the criteria are classified into five groups: scientific and intrinsic values, educational values, economic values, conservation values ​​and other values, which cover almost all features of geotourism. The GAM model is a method of physical evaluation of primary geomorphosites to assess the sustainable planning and management of natural heritage sites and their transformation into tourism destinations. This method consists of two main and complementary values. The main values ​​include scientific and educational values, aesthetic and scenic values, and conservation values, and the complementary values ​​include performance values ​​and tourism values.
Results and Findings: The results of the evaluation based on the Kobalikva and Kirchner model showed that the geomorphosites of Arasbaran forests and the village of Shtebin received the highest score and the Aladagh region received the lowest score. Therefore, based on the validation of the models, it can be concluded that the forests of Arasbaran and the village of Shtebin received the highest score and have great potential for development. Finally, it is suggested that artificial intelligence be used in future studies to evaluate the geotourism areas under study and achieve more accurate results.