Objective: Ecolodges are unique accommodations that adhere to the philosophy and principles of ecotourism, emphasizing the provision of distinctive experiences for tourists through local cuisine, interaction with nature, conservation of the natural and cultural environment, use of indigenous architecture and materials, family management, and community involvement. Despite the increasing number of ecolodges and the published research on them, no study has yet examined, classified and finally analyzed the dynamics of the scientific knowledge presented in this field in order to illuminate the future direction of research.
Method: This study conducts an analysis and evaluation of the published knowledge within the country, combining a systematic review and the paradigm funnel.
The most important scientific article indexing databases were selected to search and find relevant articles, including NoorMagz (46 articles), Magiran (64 articles), the Islamic World Science Citation Center (33 articles), the Comprehensive Humanities Portal (33 articles), and Google Scholar (68 articles). Of the total number of articles reviewed (244 articles), 170 articles were duplicates across the five indexing databases and were removed.
Results: The results show that 74 articles have been published in the country's scientific journals on these accommodations. The four fields of geography, tourism, architecture and management are the dominant themes in the scientific literature on ecolodges. Given the primary focus of the study on the paradigm funnel, one of the most critical points is the development of scientific knowledge related to ecolodges. The results show that most studies are at the first and second levels, which means that the existing research literature cannot be expected to provide in-depth knowledge and evaluation results regarding ecolodges.
Conclusions: The articles were categorized into 15 thematic groups, including architecture, sustainable development, customer orientation, quality management, empowerment, business development, crisis management, entrepreneurship, tourism development, socio-cultural development, business management, marketing, rural development, spatial planning and social responsibility. Of these, sustainable development and business development were the most common.
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