Potential assessment of geotourism capacities and economic development of Khalkhal city based on quantitative methods

Today, the tourism industry is considered the main pillar of development. This industry is one of the most up-to-date services in the world in terms of income generation and national economy advancement. The aim of the present study is to assess the potential of geotourism capacities and economic development of Khalkhal County based on quantitative methods. The method of this research is descriptive, analytical and applied, and dynamic models, Violet and Kobalikwa were used to evaluate the studied area. According to the studies conducted, the results obtained from the dynamic evaluation model of the Khalkhal geotourism area have the highest value in the category of diversity in geomorphological forms with a score of 3.53 and the lowest value in the category of rarity at the national level with a score of 1.53. Also, this area has a high value in the integrity index and a score of 0.66 from the visitors' point of view, and has a low value in the scientific knowledge index with a score of 0.27. According to experts, Khalkhal region has the highest score in the section of natural elements and cultural heritage with a value of 4.46 and the lowest score in the section of interpretive value with a value of 1.74. Also, this region has the highest value in the sub-index of visibility evaluation with a value of 0.72 and the lowest score in the item of interpretive value with a value of 0.19. Based on the results obtained from the evaluation method of the Khalkhal National Park, it obtained a score of 0.33 because this region received a travel score in some of the evaluated items, which indicates that this region has not been developed and progressed appropriately in terms of geotourism. To evaluate the geomorphosite of Ardabil province, the value of each of the sub-criteria has been calculated for the studied region using the Kubalikva model, and Khalkhal region has obtained the lowest score in terms of scientific value, economic value, and added value, with a score of one. Also, this region has obtained a score of 0.75 for educational value and 1.5 for conservation value, and has obtained the lowest value in the set with a score of 25.5. Therefore, it is suggested that in future studies to economize the tourism industry, attention should be paid to improving tourism infrastructure, intellectual welfare, and economic welfare in the region, because when these facilities are provided in the region, a suitable model can be designed to economize tourism capacities.