Research Question
How do increasing tourism pressures in Mazandaran interact with carrying-capacity limits, land-use change, and sustainable tourism challenges?
Mazandaran is one of Iran’s busiest tourism regions, receiving extremely high volumes of domestic visitors every year. Studies across Iran point to rapid land-use change, coastal development, rising second-home construction, and increasing pressure on natural ecosystems, especially in areas like Babolsar and Fereydonkenar (Safarrad et al., 2021). Although the term “overtourism” is not widely used in Iranian research, the documented trends closely match global patterns described in international literature. Research also highlights governance challenges, weak planning systems, and difficulties balancing tourism growth with environmental protection and community needs (Nouri et al., 2017; Solymannejad et al., 2022). At the same time, media coverage shows that Mazandaran continues to attract millions of visitors each season, often exceeding available accommodation and infrastructure (Tehran Times, 2024). These pressures raise concerns for the surrounding Hyrcanian Forests, where land-use conversion and villa development have already accelerated due to tourism demand.
This project explores how increasing tourism activity intersects with carrying-capacity limits, land-use change, and sustainable development challenges in Mazandaran. Instead of testing a single theory, it draws from regional studies in Iran as well as global cases of overtourism, sustainable tourism management, taxation approaches, stakeholder collaboration, and rural destination management (e.g., Bisht, 2025; Jamieson & Jamieson, 2019; Loverio et al., 2023). Together, these sources help explain how physical limits, governance gaps, and rapid development shape the current situation.
By combining environmental, social, and institutional perspectives, the project aims to illustrate where tourism pressures are strongest and how they align with international overtourism patterns. The goal is not to provide full solutions but to map out key challenges and identify lessons from comparable destinations—such as Sagada, Iceland, the Czech Republic, Macao, and others—where coordinated management, taxation, or community involvement improved outcomes. Overall, the project offers a grounded overview of Mazandaran’s emerging vulnerabilities and highlights why long-term, sustainability-focused planning is becoming increasingly urgent for the province’s future.