Based on the results, the following recommendations are suggested:
6.3.1 Organizing coastal areas
The most important performance measure for organizing coastal areas is to stop the construction of villas and second-homes in vulnerable forest and coastal areas and remove barriers that impede tourists’ access to beaches. Rules and regulations that must be taken into account in constructions in coastal areas include the Coastal Lands Act passed in 1976.
According to this law, the width of coastal boundary must be 60 meters from the high water mark of 1963. Of course, due to the sea level rising in the past years a new baseline for indicating high water mark should be identified.
Integrated management of beaches in all three coastal provinces, Mazandaran, Gilan and Golestan, and continuous monitoring of land use changes should be considered. A comprehensive plan for tourism development in the 40 km of almost unspoiled beaches (see map 5.15) should be developed before speculators attack and repeat the bitter experience of similar areas. These measures may help to relieve some of the troubles that manifested for residents such as litter and traffic problems.
6.3.2 Develop strategies to help spread the benefits of tourism to the wider community Planners need to contribute local communities to provide their traditional products in a way that appeals to tourists. Generally, local communities’ products are traditional ones that are not appreciated by tourists, e.g. local dairy products are less popular and suffering loss of prestige day by day, both from the point of view of the risk to human health and in respect of the short shelf-life of the end product (Fao, 2013). Therefore, in most cases a business relationship cannot be established between residents and tourists, except in limited cases such as renting rooms to tourists and caretaking.
Furthermore, tourism planners and decision makers in Mazandaran need to develop strategies to help distribution of tourism benefits among various social groups in order to gain their support for tourism development. Development of small scale tourism and providing
low-interest loans to local communities to invest in tourism projects particularly in developing low-cost accommodation establishments such as ecolodges is also recommended. Public organizations may transfer the ownership or the right of exploitation of their resorts and tourist villages to the local residents. This would not only help spread the benefits of tourism to residents, but also can bring communities together and the wider social benefits (Ritchie &
Inkari, 2006).
6.3.3 Development recreational facilities throughout the coastal strip
The finding of this research revealed that those residents who use tourism resource-based facilities and services are strongly supportive of tourism development. In fact, it was the most important factor for gaining residents’ support for tourism development. On the other hand, lack of recreational facilities and services is one of the main factors in environmental degradation. The high density of tourism establishments in limited part of coastal areas, mainly around Ramsar, Tonekabon, Noushahr, Nour, and Babolsar, have intensified pressures on the environment and local communities and increase the scope of environmental and socioeconomic costs.
Establishing new recreational facilities and improvement of existing facilities with a commitment to sustainable development principles and respect for local patterns will not only promote residents’ support for tourism, but also will help to conserve environment and enhance tourists’ satisfaction.
6.3.4 Involving local community in development process
Planners need to understand that host communities consist of different social groups with different interests. Many community members may not enjoy the benefits of tourism. Women are among groups that their critical role in tourism planning in Mazandaran has been neglected. The results of this research show that female residents are more eager to support tourism development. Therefore, planners, decision makers, and investors should involve them in tourism development process.
There are several types of community partnership in tourism development. According to Timothy (1998), the most important form of partnership includes cooperation between public
organizations, different levels of government, and the private. The establishment of community based tourism NGOs can help to promote residents’ role in tourism development.
However, it is critical in host communities to consider the extent to which community may cooperate with government and public organizations (Boya& Singh, 2003). Lankford and Howard suggested, “Local governments and tourism promoters should lay particular emphasis on the finding that if people feel they have access to the planning/public review process and that their concerns are being considered, they will support tourism” (1994, p. 135).
6.3.5 Developing education programs
The findings of this study suggest that those residents who have a positive understanding of economic benefits of tourism remaining in the society are more likely to support tourism development. Education is needed to explain direct, indirect, and induced benefits of tourism for society. If people are uninformed of tourism’s benefits, they may over time change their mind, become opposed to tourism development, and reject tourism. To help local community to better understand tourism and its impacts, educational programs can be developed through tourism exhibitions, public meetings, workshops, and television and radio programs.
6.3.6 Commitment to practical use of impact assessment techniques
The results indicate that there has been considerable environmental degradation and over-exploitation of natural resources due to the unplanned expansion of coastal construction and the conversion of farmlands and paddies to residential areas. “Impact analysis is conducted to predict the likely economic, social, and environmental effects of alternative tourism plans.
Impact assessment suggest who and what may be positively and adversely impacted by the proposed developments and help the community decide which, if any, of alternative plans should be adopted”( Dwyer & Edwards, 2010, p.34). Thus, commitment to use impact assessment techniques in development projects contributes to control negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts when the environment is affected by development.