Background and Objective: Geotourism is a branch of sustainable tourism that focuses on the geological features and natural landscapes of a region. Tourism has various forms and types that are related to geography and tourism. The purpose of the present study is to investigate and assess the geomorphological and geotourism potential of Mahabad city, which is based on the sustainability model. The purpose of this study is to evaluate geotourism potential and its management in the tourist area of West Azerbaijan province, Mahabad city.
Methodology: The research method in this study is based on three models of Kobalikwa and Feoult. In the Kobalikwa model, the criteria are classified into five groups: scientific and intrinsic values, educational values, economic values, conservation values, and other values, which covers almost all features of geotourism. In this method, geomorphosite and landforms were selected for study and evaluation according to four criteria of origin of formation, geographical distribution, tourism and general accessibility of this national park.
Results and findings: The results obtained from the Kobalikova evaluation model showed that the geotourism areas of Mahabad city, according to experts, in the category of diversity in geomorphological forms, the geotourism area of Saholan Water Cave and Kani Barzan Wetland with a numerical average of 0.7 in the Violet model and the Saholan Cave and Kani Barzan Wetland area have obtained the highest score compared to other studied areas. This result indicates the importance and high value of these areas in terms of investment for the development of geotourism and attracting tourists. As a result, it is suggested that more up-to-date models be used in future studies to examine the studied areas and that by establishing inter-organizational cooperation and training and empowering local communities along with infrastructure development, the high geotourism capacities of Mahabad city can become a sustainable source of income and employment.