Page 15 - World Heritage and Tourism Innovation

Mohammadhossein Dehghan Pour Farashah et al. Exploring the sustainability in a Rural Area

Table 2 The Activities During the Pandemic
Activities
Economic Collaborating with a local equestrian Selling handicraft
club to entertain children during the
products by advertis-
ing the local artists
workshops;
on the eco-lodge's
social media.nt.

Socio-cultural Holding creative Cooperating with
universities and
events for children
such as robotic and
NGOs to host entre-
UAV workshops;
preneurship work-
shops.and orphans;

deteriorate. I also learned about the nomination of the lifestyle was very attractive to them. We also have a
historic city of Yazd as a World Heritage Site (WHS). wonderful garden for tourists, and we even took them
On the one hand, it was located near Yazd; many trav- to the farmland of fruits when the travellers came, and
ellers could attract it. sometimes they helped us. And they would like to be
According to him, inheriting a deteriorated histor- in such an environment. We also hold some tradition-
ic property in a WHS suburb has motivated him to es- al ceremonies and festivals where they are welcomed
tablish the eco-lodge. Some scholars (e.g., Attia et al., by tourists, especially during the Nowruz holidays.
2019; Jones et al., 2022) have remarked that the WHS Our workshops about the students differed; they
listing triggers the revitalisation of historic buildings did not think such things could be done in Iran. The
for tourism purposes. After a site is inscribed on UNE- difference between our eco-lodge and other eco-lodg-
SCO’s World Heritage List, the number of tourists who es is that the topic of education and culture is being
visit it will increase (United Nations Educational, Sci- done, and it is delightful for people. If our services in
entific and Cultural Organization, 2008). the field of tourism are weak and incomplete, it would
not be evident to tourists because the learning issue is
Q2 How did you try to follow sustainability in your so interesting for them, and when we put effort into
eco-lodge? them, it sits in their hearts much more.
He responded: ‘Considering my field was architecture, We also tried to help the local community by pro-
I paid attention to sustainability since the restoration, viding job opportunities or charitable assistance. I be-
the minor work done in the building, such as materi- lieve that when we allow the villagers, they will help
als and energy, had the most negligible negative im- us.
pact on the environment. We had an ecological design Many traditional ceremonies and festivals were
if we wanted to add spaces. We also tried not to add hosted in the eco-lodge, where tourists welcomed
anything to the building and adhered to its originality. them, especially during the Nowruz holidays.
The eco-lodge is different from hotels, motels, and Regarding the environment, we made a series of
resorts. Eco-tourism is mainly in rural areas, although nests for the birds because we are in a desert area, and
it is also seen in cities. Our guests usually have visit- the birds were very hot. Because of the strong winds
ed other cities in Iran, but what is important to them in the spring, we made a series of bird nests, which
is the simplicity of eco-lodges, like the ambience and was a tourist attraction for tourists, and it was diffi-
furniture. Familiarising themselves with the villagers’ cult for the birds to find food because the weather was

Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference | 11