نوع مقاله : مقاله علمی پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
A B S T R A C T
One of the influential factors in the development of tourism and attracting tourists is having favorable climatic conditions and knowing the appropriate times for climatic comfort to select that area as a tourist destination. The aim of this research is to examine the climatic comfort of tourism in the protected areas of Zav Alef and B, Loveh, and Jahan Nama using the Tourism Climate Index (TCI) over a thirty-year study period (1992-2022). The calculation of the index was performed using climatic data obtained from the synoptic stations located in Gorleston Province. After analyzing the data and preparing a climatic comfort map for all months of the year using the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method in environment of ArcGIS Software. the area was zoned. The results showed that in Golestan Province, spring, summer, and autumn (October) conditions are more suitable for tourism compared to winter. Furthermore, the Zav Alef protected area demonstrates good and very good climatic comfort levels in spring, very good levels in summer, and good levels in autumn.. Zav B and Loveh regions, due to their close geographical proximity, also have favorable conditions for tourists in spring, summer, and autumn. Jahan Nama protected area has good conditions for tourism in spring, summer, and autumn. Based on the results, overall, winter does not provide very suitable climatic comfort conditions for tourism in these areas. The findings of this research can assist tourism policymakers and protected area managers in providing essential infrastructure and facilities to develop nature-based and ecotourism.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Nowadays, the tourism industry, as a dynamic and comprehensive sector, encompasses various elements of a society and global systems. It is acknowledged as both a social and geographical issue within the global context and serves as a critical driver for economic growth and development, significantly contributing to sustainable progress in diverse communities. Among the numerous regions recognized as tourist destinations, protected areas are particularly notable for their high tourism potential. While climate is a substantial factor influencing tourism, it does not function as the exclusive contributing factor. Accessibility, available facilities, and economic and cultural conditions also play essential roles. But climate is one of the most important factors influencing the tourism destination; it is not only a thermal and physical factor but also affects the formation of plant communities and animal habitats. Additionally, as a geographical factor, it provides environmental conditions for tourists to stay at the destination. Therefore, climate change can potentially lead to the destruction and deterioration of natural habitats and biodiversity, resulting in decreased attractiveness of the area for tourists, reduced tourist demand, and generally negative impacts on tourism. The relationship between climate change and tourism has attracted increasing scholarly attention since the late 1990s. The repercussions of climate change, including recent droughts and floods, have adversely affected various tourism sectors, especially natural tourism, posing serious challenges to the industry's development and sustainability. According to Eurobarometer, 50% of European citizens make decisions regarding the re-visit of tourist destinations based on weather conditions, which can significantly influence the quality of the tourist experience. Furthermore, weather plays a vital role in determining infrastructure and operational costs. Consequently, it is essential to understand local weather conditions and their trends throughout the year, not only for formulating strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change but also for fostering tourism development.
Considering ongoing climate change, the influence of global warming on temperature trends, and the significance of tourism for areas with tourist attractions, zoning the climatic comfort of resort areas - particularly protected areas - is essential. This approach supports policy development for tourist attraction and enables proactive measures to mitigate the effects of climate change on tourism quality. In this research, the tourist climate comfort index of selected protected areas including Jahannama, Loveh, Zav A and Zav B in Golestan province has been studied given the natural features and attractions of the protected areas and their status in the tourism industry as well as the climate diversity of Golestan province. These areas are located in different geographical locations due to their unique natural tourism characteristics. Investigating the tourism climatic comfort of these areas can reveal their climatic distribution and variability, as well as identify the presence and spatial extent of ideal and very good conditions.
Methodology
In this research, an index called tourism climate index (TCI) including seven different climate variables was used to introduce the effect of climate on tourism. In numerous studies, this index has been utilized to investigate the impact of weather on tourism destinations.
The Tourism Climate Index (TCI) is the most widely used tool in studies of tourism weather conditions, as it accounts for the primary climatic aspects - namely thermal comfort, physical factors, and aesthetic considerations - and incorporates seven climatic variables, thereby yielding more accurate results. This index is calculated as a combination of seven monthly weather variables including: 1- Daily maximum air temperature, 2- Daily minimum air temperature, 3- Daily minimum relative humidity, 4- Average daily relative humidity, 5- Rainfall, 6- Daily radiation, and 7- Average wind speed. The monthly TCI index was calculated in three steps: 1- collecting statistical data from synoptic stations, 2- analyzing and processing the data in Excel environment and creating a database, 3- preparing a climate comfort map using ArcGIS software. Based on the type of tourism activity, rainfall can have both positive and negative effects. Sunny hours can also have both positive and negative effects on tourism depending on the type of activity. This sub-indicator is evaluated as positive for tourism but can be considered negative due to the risk of sunburn and discomfort during hot days. The effect of wind speed depends on air temperature, with a negative effect in cold weather conditions and a positive effect in hot weather conditions. Variables used in the daily comfort sub-index include the maximum daily temperature and the average minimum daily relative humidity. This sub-index indicates thermal comfort conditions during peak tourism activity. Variables in the 24-hour comfort sub-index include the average daily temperature and the average daily relative humidity. This sub-index reflects thermal comfort conditions throughout the entire day and night.
Based on conducted research in this field, as well as the recommendation of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which has suggested a time period of at least twenty years, it seems that a 30-year climate scale is sufficient to determine climate change and TCI values.
Given the study's objectives, and considering that synoptic stations yield more accurate results than standard meteorological stations - and that most synoptic stations in Golestan Province were established during the 1980s and 1990s - only stations with thirty years of overlapping statistical data (Hashemabad, Gorgan, Maraveh Tepe, and Gonbad Kavus) and the shortest distances to the selected protected areas were included.
The World Meteorological Organization uses 30-year periods to calculate climate normal. These periods are considered a basis of comparison for analyzing climate trends and identifying long-term changes. The CID and CIA sub-indices use the same temperature and relative humidity data sets. From this data set, the maximum daily temperature and the minimum daily relative humidity were calculated to determine the CID sub-index. On the other hand, CIA sub-index is calculated from average daily temperature and average daily relative humidity. According to the functional form of CID and CIA, since both are indicators of thermal comfort and it is a complex psychological parameter, psychometric chart should be employed to rank their values.
This research adopts the thermal comfort rating system proposed by Mieczkowski. The weather parameters employed were obtained from synoptic stations on a daily basis from the meteorological organization of Golestan province. Thus, 40 data points were initially selected for further accuracy from the thermal comfort rating chart at the intersection of relative humidity and air temperature, which were selected for temperatures between -5 and 35 degrees Celsius and relative humidity between 20 and 100%. Temperatures outside this range and relative humidity below 20% are not common in the study area. It is worth noting that the functional form for calculating both CIA and CID indices is the same, and the final output value of each specific index uses only input temperature and relative humidity data. After creating a regression and placing the values of temperature and average relative humidity in the created regression, the rank of each of the CID and CIA sub-indices was calculated for each station in Excel software. Accordingly, the value of the desired weather parameters was inserted into the main equation to obtain the TCI value for all days of each year and each station. After that, the average TCI for all months of each year was calculated in Excel software. Subsequently creating the descriptive information layer for each of the stations and applying the value obtained from the TCI index in the descriptive information table of each station in ArcGIS software, the shape file of the studied stations was created and UTM coordinate system was applied to them using the Project command. Then, with the interpolation method and the IDW command, the tourism climate index values were applied to the studied area with a cell size of 500. Therefore, according to the numerical range of TCI for each month, it was divided into different classes from low to ideal, and finally, the monthly map of TCI index was drawn for all months of the year. The TCI index takes values from 0 to 100.
Results and discussion
Different ecosystem services are not independent; there is exchange and synergy between them. That is, an increase or decrease in a specific service leads to a response from another. It is expected that the effect of climate change on tourism, as one of the cultural ecosystem services, will cause differences in other ecosystem services and consequently affect the relationships between various ecosystem services (Deng et al., 2021). Climate also plays an important role in regulating ecosystem conditions, and as mentioned, its changes impact tourism activities .Based on the results obtained due to the climatic diversity in Golestan province, different classes of tourism climate from unfavorable to very good can be seen in the numerical range between 30-79 according to the classification of TCI index in the province. Throughout the spring season, most of the eastern and western areas of the province (Marawa Tepe and Hashimabad stations of Gorgan) are in good and very good categories in terms of tourism climate. Accordingly, during the summer season, the western part of the province has a good comfortable condition and the eastern part of the province is good and very good, providing more ideal climatic conditions for tourism in the study areas. In the autumn season, only a small part of the east of the province has good conditions, also a small part has an acceptable and good condition for tourism, and other areas stand in a low level. During the winter season, a small part of the east of the province and a small part of the west in Hashimabad station of Gorgan have an acceptable climate for tourism. The results indicate that, on the whole, favorable to excellent climatic conditions can be anticipated during the spring and summer, particularly in the eastern and western regions of the province.
Conclusion
It can be said that the protected area of Zav A has good and very good conditions during spring (May and June), very good conditions during summer (July and August), and good climatic conditions in autumn (October). Jahannama protected area also has good comfort conditions in spring (June), summer (July, August and September), and autumn (October). Tourism Zav B and Loveh regions have good climatic comfort conditions during the summer (July and August) and autumn (October) seasons. In the winter season, the climatic comfort conditions are not very suitable for tourism (except for recreational services such as playing in the snow). According to the results, Marave Tepe station and protected areas that are affected by the climate of this region, their climate conditions are good and very good for tourism compared to other stations. According to the study review, If temperature increases resulting from greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related changes - such as shifts in temperature and precipitation - lead to the degradation of Hyrcanian forests, then the protected areas of Zav A, Zav B, and Loveh will experience a decline in climatic conditions for tourism, shifting from very good to low or unfavorable levels due to the adverse effects of climate change. Therefore, the results of this research will help to prevent and deal with future temperature changes and maintain the stability of tourism climate conditions in the province. It can also assist protected area managers and tourism policymakers by offering the essential infrastructure and facilities required for the development of nature-based tourism.
Funding
This study was funded by the student research fund of Ms. Hadith Zaheri.
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.
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