Volume 12, Issue 1 And 45 (8-2025)
Journal of Spatial Analysis Environmental Hazards 2025, 12(1 And 45): 63-80 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Mohammadlo M, Einali J, Raispour K, Abbasi M, Abbasi G. Evaluating the Vulnerability of Tourist Destinations in Tarom township to Natural Hazards. Journal of Spatial Analysis Environmental Hazards 2025; 12 (1 and 45) : 5
URL: http://jsaeh.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3497-en.html
URL: http://jsaeh.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3497-en.html
1- , Einalia@znu.ac.ir
Abstract: (1138 Views)
Objective: As a result of its distinct natural and geographical conditions, Tarom township is highly vulnerable to a range of natural hazards, including floods, earthquakes, and Mass movements. Given the region's increasing popularity as a tourist destination, the implementation of effective risk management strategies is imperative. As a foundational step toward this goal, it is essential to identify, prioritize, and spatially delineate the natural hazards present in the area.
Methods: This study commenced with the development of a comprehensive checklist and risk matrix aimed at identifying the predominant hazards and evaluating the significance of their consequences. To obtain a reliable group consensus, a Delphi survey was conducted involving 10 experts across three iterative rounds. Furthermore, the Analytic Network Process (ANP) was employed to assign weights and prioritize the evaluation criteria. Subsequently, by integrating the hazard layers with the derived fuzzy weights using ArcGIS software, the vulnerability of natural hazards affecting tourist destinations within the study area was spatially delineated and presented through detailed zoning maps for each hazard category.
Results: In this study, to assess the vulnerability status of three hazards (floods, earthquakes, and Mass movements) the criteria were weighted and fuzzified, resulting in the production of vulnerability maps for each hazard. Consequently, the vulnerability levels of tourist destinations against these hazards were determined.
Conclusions: The results indicate that among the natural hazards analyzed in the region, floods hold the highest level of importance, followed by earthquakes and mass movements. Furthermore, the spatial vulnerability mapping reveals that the highest flood vulnerability is concentrated in the tourist destinations of Chavarzagh, Lar, Sorkhabad, the ShirinSu–Siahvarud corridor, and Kordabad. In terms of earthquake risk, the city of Abbar shows a very high level of vulnerability, followed by Chavazagh, the village of Deh-Bahar, and the Heshtarkhan waterfall area in Lar. Regarding Mass movements hazards, the areas most exposed to vulnerability include the ShirinSu–Siahvarud corridor, the region of Valider, the Heshtarkhan waterfall area in Lar, and Sorkhabad.
Methods: This study commenced with the development of a comprehensive checklist and risk matrix aimed at identifying the predominant hazards and evaluating the significance of their consequences. To obtain a reliable group consensus, a Delphi survey was conducted involving 10 experts across three iterative rounds. Furthermore, the Analytic Network Process (ANP) was employed to assign weights and prioritize the evaluation criteria. Subsequently, by integrating the hazard layers with the derived fuzzy weights using ArcGIS software, the vulnerability of natural hazards affecting tourist destinations within the study area was spatially delineated and presented through detailed zoning maps for each hazard category.
Results: In this study, to assess the vulnerability status of three hazards (floods, earthquakes, and Mass movements) the criteria were weighted and fuzzified, resulting in the production of vulnerability maps for each hazard. Consequently, the vulnerability levels of tourist destinations against these hazards were determined.
Conclusions: The results indicate that among the natural hazards analyzed in the region, floods hold the highest level of importance, followed by earthquakes and mass movements. Furthermore, the spatial vulnerability mapping reveals that the highest flood vulnerability is concentrated in the tourist destinations of Chavarzagh, Lar, Sorkhabad, the ShirinSu–Siahvarud corridor, and Kordabad. In terms of earthquake risk, the city of Abbar shows a very high level of vulnerability, followed by Chavazagh, the village of Deh-Bahar, and the Heshtarkhan waterfall area in Lar. Regarding Mass movements hazards, the areas most exposed to vulnerability include the ShirinSu–Siahvarud corridor, the region of Valider, the Heshtarkhan waterfall area in Lar, and Sorkhabad.
Article number: 5
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/05/22 | Accepted: 2025/07/9 | Published: 2025/09/7
Received: 2025/05/22 | Accepted: 2025/07/9 | Published: 2025/09/7
References
1. Annen, C., & Wagner, J. J. (2003). The impact of volcanic eruptions during the 1990s. Natural Hazards Review, 4(4), 169-175. [DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2003)4:4(169)]
2. Alcántara-Ayala, I. (2002). Geomorphology, natural hazards, vulnerability and prevention of natural disasters in developing countries. Geomorphology, 47(2-4), 107-124. [DOI:10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00083-1]
3. Berdychevsky, L., & Gibson, H. J. (2015). Phenomenology of young women's sexual risk-taking in tourism. Tourism management, 46, 299-310. [DOI:10.1016/j.tourman.2014.07.008]
4. Björk, P., & Kauppinen-Räisänen, H. (2013). Destination countries' risk image as perceived by Finnish travellers. Matkailututkimus, 9(1), 21-38. https://journal.fi/matkailututkimus/article/view/90881
5. Cruz, A. M., & Okada, N. (2008). Methodology for preliminary assessment of Natech risk in urban areas. Natural Hazards, 46, 199-220. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-007-9207-1 [DOI:10.1007/s11069-007-9207-1]
6. Chen, J. V., Htaik, S., Hiele, T. M., & Chen, C. (2017). Investigating international tourists' intention to revisit Myanmar based on need gratification, flow experience and perceived risk. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 18(1), 25-44. [DOI:10.1080/1528008X.2015.1133367]
7. Damle, S., Mani, S. K., & Balamurugan, G. (2021). Natech guide words: A new approach to assess and manage natech risk to ensure business continuity. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 72, 104564. [DOI:10.1016/j.jlp.2021.104564]
8. EM-DAT (Emergency Event Database). (2018). The International Disaster Database. Centre for Research. on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Université catholique de Louvain. https://www.emdat.be
9. Garg, A., & Kumar, J. (2017). The impact of risk perception and factors on tourists decision making for choosing the destination Uttarakhand/India. Ottoman Journal of Tourism and Management Research, 2(2), 144-160. http://ottomanjournal.com/issue/2017/article%204-2017-vol.2%20issue%202.pdf [DOI:10.26465/ojtmr.2017229490]
10. Heidari Shoja, Roghayeh. (2018). Evaluation of Natural Hazards of Tourism in the Taftan Basin, Master's thesis in Geography and Tourism Planning, Regional Tourism Planning, supervised by Dr. Samad Fotuhi and Dr. Mohsen Hamidianpour, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran. (in Persian)
11. Kordic, N., Zivkovic, R., Stankovic, J., & Gajic, J. (2015). Safety and Security as factors of tourism destination competitiveness. 34-38. [DOI:10.15308/sitcon-2015-34-38]
12. koohestani S, Sayyafzadeh B, sarvghad moghadam A, sharifi M. (2023). A qualitative investigation of the effect of natural hazards on industrial plants (with emphasis on oil and gas industries) and Iran's position in this field. Journal of Spatial Analysis Environmental Hazards. 10 (4) :183-208. (in Persian) http://jsaeh.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3362-en.html [DOI:10.61186/jsaeh.10.4.183]
13. Kumar, P., Debele, S. E., Sahani, J., Rawat, N., Marti-Cardona, B., Alfieri, S. M., ... & Zieher, T. (2021). An overview of monitoring methods for assessing the performance of nature-based solutions against natural hazards. Earth-Science Reviews, 217, 103603. [DOI:10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103603]
14. Misuri, A., Moreno, V. C., Quddus, N., & Cozzani, V. (2019). Lessons learnt from the impact of hurricane Harvey on the chemical and process industry. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 190, 106521. [DOI:10.1016/j.ress.2019.106521]
15. Management and Planning Organization of Zanjan (2016). (in Persian) https://mpo-zn.ir/fa-ir/
16. Mamghani Nasab, Ashkan. (2013). Study of vulnerability, risk management and natural hazards in mountain ecotourism areas (case study: Shemiran township). Master's thesis in Geography and Tourism Planning under the guidance of Dr. Ali Hajinejad and Dr. Ali Asgari and the advice of Dr. Mahmoud Khosravi, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran. (in Persian)
17. Murthy, E. K. (2008). Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality ethics. India: ABD Publishers. ISBN-13 :978-8183761420.
18. National Cartographic Center of Iran (2016). (in Persian) https://en.ncc.gov.ir/Main-Page
19. Park, K., & Reisinger, Y. (2010). Differences in the perceived influence of natural disasters and travel risk on international travel. Tourism Geographies, 12(1), 1-24. [DOI:10.1080/14616680903493621]
20. Pathranarakul, P., & Moes, T. L. (2006). An integrated approach to natural disaster management: Public project management and its critical success factors. Disaster Prevention and Management, 15(3), 396-413. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09653560610669882 [DOI:10.1108/09653560610669882]
21. Rucińska, D., & Lechowicz, M. (2014). Natural hazard and disaster tourism. Miscellanea Geographica. Regional Studies on Development, 18(1), 17-25. https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/2037015.pdf [DOI:10.2478/mgrsd-2014-0002]
22. Sadeghi, H., & Haseli, M. (2024). Assessment the vulnerability of rural tourism destinations against flood risk in mountainous regions (case study: Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province). Journal of Environmental Research in Mountainous Regions, 1(1), 1-14. (in Persian) [DOI:10.22034/ermr.2025.63294]
23. Sheikhi, M., Shamsipour, A. A., Faizi, V. and Davudvandi, T. (2012). Vulnerability of informal settlement neighborhoods to natural hazards. Case study: Chahistaniha neighborhood in Bandar Abbas city. Spatial Planning and Geomatics. 16 (2), 102-120. (in Persian) http://hsmsp.modares.ac.ir/article-21-6585-fa.html
24. Schwanghart, W., Agarwal, A., Cook, K., Ozturk, U., Shukla, R., & Fuchs, S. (2024). Preface: Estimating and predicting natural hazards and vulnerabilities in the Himalayan region. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 24(9), 3291-3297. https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/24/3291/2024/ [DOI:10.5194/nhess-24-3291-2024]
25. Sajid, T., Maimoon, S. K., Waseem, M., Ahmed, S., Khan, M. A., Tränckner, J., ... & Skoulikaris, C. (2025). Integrated Risk Assessment of Floods and Landslides in Kohistan, Pakistan. Sustainability, 17(8), 3331. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3331 [DOI:10.3390/su17083331]
26. Statistical Center of Iran (2016). (in Persian) https://old.sci.org.ir/english
27. Southon, M. P., & van der Merwe, C. D. (2018). Flooded with risks or opportunities: Exploring flooding impacts on tourist accommodation. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 7(1), 1-16. http://www.ajhtl.com
28. Sengul, H., Santella, N., Steinberg, L. J., & Cruz, A. M. (2012). Analysis of hazardous material releases due to natural hazards in the United States. Disasters, 36(4), 723-743. [DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7717.2012.01272.x]
29. Sarani, M., González, P. A., and Delgado, R. C. (2016). Emergency and Disaster Reports. 3(4): 3-48.
30. UNISDR. (2005). National report of the Islamic pepublic of Iran on disaster Reduction. World Conference on Disaster Reduction, (January), 1-149. https://www.unisdr.org/2005/mdgs-drr/national-reports/Iran-report.pdf
31. Zakaria, Z., & Hua, A. K. (2024). The Impact of River Landform Changes Caused by Geohazards on the Economic Development of Ecotourism in Sabah, Malaysia. Sustainable Environmental Insight, 1(2), 81-95. https://tecnoscientifica.com/journal/sein/article/download/477/240 [DOI:10.53623/sein.v1i2.477]
32. Yari, Yasman. (2014). Analysis of natural tourism's hazards, city of Khorramabad. Master's thesis in Geography and Environmental Planning (Environmental Hazards) supervised by Dr. Gholamreza Nouri, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran. (in Persian)
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
