Challenges of Management and Development of Tourism in Protected Areas of Southern Coast of Caspian Sea (A Case of Miankalelt Wildlife Refuge)

Ever-increasing on protected areas as tourism destinations, and development of tourism activities within those areas may be regarded as an opportunity for local community and preservation of natural resources: yet, there exists concerns for ineffective management in such areas(Hockings and Philips,2003). Without a systematic and knowledge-based management, any imprudent change in land use and uncontrolled tourism development can be a serious threat against these areas. Global and national experiences show irreversible changes to the environment and devastation of fragile, yet worthy ecosystems. Southern coast of Caspian Sea in one of the most long- established and important tourism destinations in Iran, and its core product it nature- baded tourism. A considerable portion of ecotourism takes place in protected areas and Northern littoral of Iran are potential ecotourism destinations. Despite the fact that natural resource protection started more than 50 years ago in Iran, the surveys show the management system of these areas is not effective and efficient enough. This paper evaluates the ecotourism porentials of protected areas of Northern waterfront provinces of Iran: and through a comparative study,it compares the management system of these areas with those of other areas across the world. Then, the management model of "Miankale Wildlife Refuge" is evaluated. The results show that the management system of "Miankale Wildlife Refuge" is traditional and classic, in which the area is considered as a museum and the only concern is protecting the environment. In this approach tourism i

Exploring the state of tourism in Iran’s higher education

In tourism, like any other service industry, the people offering service are a constituent part of the product, and their expertise, theoretical knowledge, and job skills undeniably affect the quality of services. Hence, Composition and implementation of human resource development strategies is of a great importance and education/training, therein, plays a major part. Higher education, compared to other educational levels, is of greater significance for being in charge of training expert human resources to create knowledge and transfer it to the lower levels. Among the component indices of higher education system, the scientific criteria, including learning factors, teaching factors, and learning conditions and facilities, correlate directly with the quality of academic courses. In order to explore the state of these criteria in tourism academic courses, two models are used: horizontal model (based on the scientific nature of courses) and vertical model (based on the education level and hierarchy). Having investigated the indices of scientific system of tourism education based on these two models, it allows ascertaining the efficiency of education system in terms of form and content. This research focuses on identification of the model and quality of scientific and learning criteria of tourism in Iran’s higher education, utilizing a comparative-longitudinal research method. A comparative study was also performed between Iran and Turkey, using interviews and secondary data analysis. Results indicate that although the number of students and tourism education centers has increased dramatically in Iran, the development model has not conformed to the selected horizontal and vertical models of the research in terms of form and content. In addition, serious shortcomings seem to exist in learning facilities and conditions of all educational courses

Exploring the state of tourism in Iran’s higher

In tourism, like any other service industry, the people offering service are a constituent part of the product, and their expertise, theoretical knowledge, and job skills undeniably affect the quality of services. Hence, Composition and implementation of human resource development strategies is of a great importance and education/training, therein, plays a major part. Higher education, compared to other educational levels, is of greater significance for being in charge of training expert human resources to create knowledge and transfer it to the lower levels. Among the component indices of higher education system, the scientific criteria, including learning factors, teaching factors, and learning conditions and facilities, correlate directly with the quality of academic courses. In order to explore the state of these criteria in tourism academic courses, two models are used: horizontal model (based on the scientific nature of courses) and vertical model (based on the education level and hierarchy). Having investigated the indices of scientific system of tourism education based on these two models, it allows ascertaining the efficiency of education system in terms of form and content. This research focuses on identification of the model and quality of scientific and learning criteria of tourism in Iran’s higher education, utilizing a comparative-longitudinal research method. A comparative study was also performed between Iran and Turkey, using interviews and secondary data analysis. Results indicate that although the number of students and tourism education centers has increased dramatically in Iran, the development model has not conformed to the selected horizontal and vertical models of the research in terms of form and content. In addition, serious shortcomings seem to exist in learning facilities and conditions of all educational courses