Document Type : Original Article

Subjects

• Rural geography - rural planning

Extended Abstract

1. Introduction

One of the most important infrastructures necessary to attract tourists is the existence of accommodations that are designed, built, and managed according to established standards. Environmental values and capabilities of ecotourism, along with the principled use of hidden values in the environment, will be considered in parallel to create maximum compatibility between ecotourism accommodations and the characteristics of each place and region. Guidelines for the construction of these residences will be developed in accordance with social, cultural, and environmental conditions. According to the presented material, this article attempts to provide an analysis of the physical-environmental consequences of ecotourism development in rural settlements of Kerman.

2. Materials and Method

The present research was conducted with the aim of analyzing the physical-environmental consequences of the development of ecotourism in the rural settlements of the city. This research employs a descriptive-analytical method, and, given its purpose, it falls within the field of applied research. To collect the required information, documentary studies and survey methods have been used through library, field, and questionnaire data. According to the studies, among the 521 inhabited villages of Kerman, 27 touristic villages with ecotourism residences were selected as the statistical population. Cochran's formula was used to determine the sample size. Therefore, 380 researcher-made questionnaires were prepared with 47 questions, whose validity was determined by formal and structural methods in natural fields, infrastructures, and construction, respectively, with values of 0.681, 0.895, and 0.796. The reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, with values of 0.895, 0.681, and 0.805, respectively. To analyze the data, confirmatory factor analysis (Smart-PLS) was used. The purpose of confirmatory factor analysis (Smart-PLS) is to determine the power level of a pre-defined factor model with a set of observed data.

3. Results and Discussion

Based on the results of the measurement model, the visible factor is mostly greater than 0.3, indicating a significant correlation between the visible variables and the related hidden variables. Therefore, it can be concluded that each main variable has been measured correctly. Therefore, according to the results of this table, the ecological development model of the villages of Kerman will be an environmental model. The following section discusses the factor load analysis of the dimensions raised in the research separately for each of the rural districts within the city. However, due to the large volume of this analysis, only the table of factor loadings that determined the pattern is provided here. The observation factor has a value greater than 0.3 in most cases, indicating a proper correlation between the observable variables and the related hidden variables. Therefore, it can be concluded that each main variable has been measured correctly. Qanataghstan ecological development model; mill head; gardeners; Koirat; Zangiabad; arboretums of the type of environmental development model and Joshan ecotourism development model; sewing Meaziah; Sirach; Akhtarabad will be physical. To check the significance of the relationship between the variables, the t-value statistic is used. If the t-statistic is greater than 1.96, the hypothesis is confirmed. Because significance is checked at the 0.05 error level, if the amount of factor loadings observed with the t-value test is calculated to be smaller than 1.96, the relationship is not significant. Since the t-statistic is greater than 1.96, there is a significant relationship between the presentation of desirable models and the development of ecotourism in the villages of Kerman.

4. Conclusions

According to the obtained results, ecotourism generally had positive effects in all dimensions and components, but the amount was different in various components. In most cases, the observed factor load has a value greater than 0.3, which indicates that there is a good correlation between the visible variables and the related hidden variables. Since the development of ecotourism has not been able to be brought up in the villages of this city in a proper and necessary way. A suitable model or in some way appropriate to the development of their ecotourism should be proposed. Based on this, it can be generally stated that the development model of the rural villages of Kerman will be environmental-physical. Also, the shape of the eco-tourism development pattern of each village according to the conditions governing them is as follows: Joshan, Sirach, Mazieh and Akhtarabad: the physical-spatial pattern leads to the development of their eco-tourism. Other rural areas such as Qanataghestan: environmental; Koirat, Zangi-Abad, Drakhngan, Sar-Asiab, Baghin: economic and ecological; and Keshit: physical-spatial will be the ideal model for their ecotourism development. The results of the present research with the results of a study by Pourtemad and Nik Kadam (2022), Ebrahimi (2021), Faraji Rad et al. (2013), Pirzad and Riahi Moghadam (2014), who believed that the development model of ecotourism as well as the architecture of ecotourism villages and residences must be compatible with the climate and environment of that region. The main innovation of the current research and its difference from similar studies is that, in addition to considering physical factors, this research also considers environmental factors in providing a model for ecotourism residences in Kerman city. In the end, to develop ecotourism in the villages of Kerman city, the following suggestions are made:

- To reach the appropriate pattern of ecotourism development, consider the weaknesses and potential of the villages;

- In the next step, the development model of village ecotourism should be physical-spatial and environmental;

Another factor to consider in this regard is organizing the infrastructure of this area.

- Try to use materials that are suitable for the region's climate.

5. Acknowledgement & Funding

We would like to thank Dr. Ali Akbar Anabestani and others who have helped us with their valuable advice in conducting this research.

6. Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.