A Review on the Feasibility and Effectiveness of the Wildlife Tourism based on the approach of establishing Safari Park in Mashhad Metropolitan

Document Type : Scientific Research

Authors

• Hadi Taheri ¹
• Morteza Rezazadeh ²
• Shima Firouzbakht ³
• navid saeidi rezvani ⁴

¹ Master Student of Urban Planning, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin Branch, Qazvin, Iran

² candidate of Geography and Urban Planning, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

³ Graduate of Urban Design, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran

⁴ Assistant professor of Urbanism, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran.

Abstract

Highlights

Abstract

The broadness of the activity in wildlife tourism leads to various and different needs. For generic people, some types of wildlife tourism are more attractive than others. However, due to the sensitivity and fragility of the resources, it is necessary to pay more attention to the performance of wildlife tourism. Thus, the current study aimed to recognize and understand the feasibility and effectiveness of wildlife tourism with the approach of establishing a safari park in the Mashhad Metropolitan area. This study was analytical-descriptive research in terms of purpose and applied research. The data and information collection method was library and field research. A descriptive table was used to describe the data at the descriptive level, and the Chi-Square test was used for the comparative studies at the inferential level. The findings showed that there is a possibility to establish a safari park in the southern area of Mashhad at different aspects of environmental, climate, traffic, physical, social, economic, legal, etc. Furthermore, the results obtained from the Chi-square test indicated that wildlife tourism with an approach of establishing a safari park would have the maximum impact on increasing the diversity in the ways to spend leisure time in the region. Thus, the Chi-square test indicated the significant difference (less than 0.05) seen among the frequencies and the gained expectation from the population under study well.

 Keyword: Safari Park, Feasibility, Wildlife Tourism, Mashhad.

Introduction

In the last two decades, growing concern about the conservation of natural resources has tightened the relationship between nature and tourism. Also, there is a growing desire to interact with nature in various ways. This desire for nature has been seen in the high demand of tourists for related activities, the valuation of these activities, and the relatively high attention paid to wildlife versus domestic and semi-domestic animals. “Wild Tourism” is a branch of the tourism industry of some countries the spine of which is to observe the wild animals and plants in their natural habitats. Safari is also considered a part of wildlife tourism. Wildlife tourism simply means establishing a relationship with the wild animals in their natural and original habitat. Sometimes it is done actively (hunting-sampling) and sometimes passively (watching-photography). Ecotourism and wildlife tourism are not synonymous, but there is an overlap between the two, and it can be said that wildlife tourism includes all mentioned three types of tourism in the natural environment, and it is somewhat of a nature-based adventure trip, including the key principles of environmental-friendly ecotourism and conservation support training. Recreational use of wildlife is based on three elements: ecology, recreational use, and the historical context of human-wildlife interaction. The value of conserving natural resources, animal welfare, and tourist satisfaction are often at odds with economic profitability. Thus, in these conditions, it is necessary to consider all these cases and consider principles for them. Accordingly, the specific features of establishing a safari park along with other factors, such as the geographical position and the demands of the Mashhad Metropolitan and the neighboring regions require determining particular objectives and plans to realize this type of tourism. Therefore, the current research attempted to study the feasibility of this type of tourism and its effectiveness on the tourism of the Mashhad Metropolitan. Hence, the main questions of research were as follows: What are the required conditions and facilities to realize wildlife tourism with an approach of establishing a safari park in Mashhad city? and how this type of tourism will affect the city of Mashhad? 

Research Method

The current study was descriptive-analytical research in terms of purpose and is of applied research. The information and data collection method was library and field research. The statistical population included experts in wildlife tourism and safari park. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The sampling method of the current research was the purposive sampling method. Since in the field method, a Five-point Likert scale (from completely undesirable to completely desirable) and open questions were used in the questionnaire, in the spectral questions, scores of 1 to 5 were given to the answers. 3 was obtained as the average score. Then, the obtained average was compared with 3. Also, Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the questionnaire, the value of which was obtained 0.811, which was considered desirable. The number of samples gathered for the current study was 384. In this study, SPSS software was used at two levels of descriptive and inferential. At the descriptive level, the average, etc., were used to describe the data. At the inferential level, the Chi-square test was used for non-parametric variables.

Findings and Discussion

Investigation of environmental and natural conditions necessary for the formation of wildlife tourism with the approach of establishing a safari park

Considering that the northern zone of Mashhad city is prone to pollution and erosion and the unorganized informal settlements and industrial workshops are located in this area, this zone is not appropriate to establish a safari park of Mashhad. In the eastern zone, the unorganized informal settlements and large-grained land use, such as military and industrial facilities and the endowment lands of Astan-e Quds-e Razavi and Behesht-e Reza cemetery and stone mines, this zone also is not proper for the establishment of the Safari Park of Mashhad. In the western part, for the reasons mentioned, this part is exposed to the development of many constructions, as well as the existence of factories, industrial towns, and power plants, which according to these issues, this area is not suitable for the construction of Mashhad Safari Park. Considering the study of different zones and the southern area and considering the unique attraction and natural open spaces, as well as the elevation difference with the city of Mashhad, which has a good view and landscape, and considering that this is one of the best methods of preservation of the natural environment of this zone is planning and determining the role appropriate with the ability of the environment, and the existence of numerous water springs in the range of heights of this area has made it suitable, the least damage to the natural resources is the purpose of considering all the regulations for the establishment of the Safari Park in this area. Therefore, the southern part of Mashhad is considered a more desirable option than the rest of the districts. Examination of the necessary criteria for developing a safari park in the southern part of Mashhad showed that this area does not have significant restrictions to establish and create this type of tourism in the area. Criteria evaluated for this purpose are area, proximity, and adaptation, micro-climate of the region, available natural resources, ownership, slope, access, infrastructures, tourist attraction.

As can be seen, the experts and thinkers believed that wildlife tourism with the approach of establishing a safari park would have the maximum effect in increasing the variety of ways to spend leisure time in the region. This index obtained the highest score with a mean of 4.4 among other studied indices. Also, considering the significance level of Chi-square (0.003), it can be understood that the obtained results are significant. Increasing the number of tourists, improving the visual aesthetics, and developing attractive landscapes were ranked next. Given that the significance level of the two indices is less than 0.05, thus, the Chi-Square test indicated the significant difference between the observed frequencies and the gained expectations from the population understudy well.

Table 3. The results of Chi-Square to study the effectiveness of wildlife tourism with the approach of establishing a safari park

Resource: Authors (2021)

Conclusion

One of the spatial patterns of tourism formed in the post-modernism era is wildlife tourism or a type of safari park. This spatial pattern includes the approach of tourists to the natural environment and wildlife with various intentions. Thus, the spatial broadness of this pattern encompasses the natural environment, including beaches, forests, mountains, etc. Iran can become one of the wildlife tourism hubs in the world by having natural resources and attractions and unique wildlife. Accordingly, the current study aimed to study the feasibility and effectiveness of wildlife tourism with an approach of establishing a safari park in the margins of Mashhad Metropolitan. The data collection method was library and field research. In the field research, a questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was used. According to enactment number 1797/310/300 of the Supreme Council of Architecture and Urban Planning (2010), zoos (safari is a kind of free zoo) can be established only outside the legal boundaries of cities and in the experience of different countries, the average safari distance from parks to the city center is about 20 km so that it is within a suitable radius for tourists to visit. Accordingly, in the current study, the southern boundary of Mashhad metropolitan was considered based on the location regulations of safari parks. The results indicated that it was possible to establish a safari park in Mashhad in various environmental, climatic, traffic, physical, social, economic, and legal, etc. aspects. Also, based on the opinion of experts and thinkers, 12 indicators were analyzed and studied to investigate the effectiveness of wildlife tourism with the approach of establishing a safari park in the southern boundary of Mashhad. The results indicated that wildlife tourism with the approach of establishing a safari park would have the maximum impact in increasing the diversity in the ways of spending leisure time in the region. This index gained the maximum score with a mean of 4.4 among other indicators understudy. Also, considering the significance level of the Chi-Square test (0.003), it can be understood that the obtained results are significant. The increase in the number of tourists, improving the visual aesthetics, and development of attractive landscapes are ranked next. Considering that the significance level of the two indicators was less than 0.05, thus, the Chi-square test showed a significant difference among the observed frequencies and expected results from the population understudy well. Among the most significant positive consequences projected by the experts and thinkers regarding the wildlife tourism with an approach of establishing a safari park in the southern boundary of Mashhad Metropolitan are as follows: increase in the return of tourists to the region, increasing the length of stay of tourists in the region, enhancing the vitality and dynamicity, turning into a tourism hub, etc. On the other hand, the negative consequences of this type of tourism in the area are as follows: increasing the traffic volume in the connecting routes of the region, the lack of parking lots in the region, reduction in the security, and creating the noise pollution. Thus, it is required to improve the positive aspects and remove the negative points to realize this type of tourism using various methods.

Keywords

• Safari Park
• Feasibility
• Wildlife Tourism
• Mashhad

Main Subjects

• Urban Development