The effects of ecotourism on the sustainable development of local communities Loot desert (Case study: Western section of Loot desert- Desert Shahdad)

Today, tourism in general and ecotourism have become, in particular, one of the most important sources of employment in societies. The industry has been one of the reasons for the creation and prosperity of large investments in those infrastructures that improve and improve the living conditions of local people, and on the other hand, through employment and value for local communities, they have a source of income in addition to their current income. The aim of this study is to investigate the ecotouristic effects of Shahdad Desert on the sustainable development of local communities. The present research is descriptive-analytic in terms of research method, in terms of the nature of applied research and in terms of data collection, library and fieldwork. The statistical population of the study is the key informant of the Shahdad district (rural managers of Shahdad district), which has been selected randomly by 115 people. The results of the research show that, based on the key awareness of the region, the phenomena and ecotouristic eccentricities of Desert Shahdad have been effective on sustainable regional development including components such as job creation, income generation, environmental protection, raising knowledge and knowledge of local communities, and reducing rural-urban migration. According to the results, the most ecotouristic effects of Desert Shahdad on the development of local societies in relation to the economic dimension with a 4.2462 statistic and the least impact on the social dimension of sustainable development with the statistics of 1.8014. The results of Pearson correlation coefficient show that there is a direct, significant relationship between ecotourism and sustainable development in the study area with a 0.782% coefficient.

Keywords:

Ecotourism , Sustainable Development , Economy , Shahdad Desert , Loot desert