طراحی الگوی گردشگری احیاگر در کندوان: گذر از تجربه‌گرایی به سوی درمان روان‌زیست‌محور

Introduction

In the face of accelerating environmental degradation, urban stress, and socio-cultural erosion, the concept of regenerative tourism has emerged as a response to the limitations of conventional sustainable tourism. Unlike sustainability, which often seeks to maintain the status quo, regenerative tourism actively restores, revitalizes, and regenerates both ecosystems and communities. It emphasizes deeper emotional, psychological, and spiritual connections between visitors, hosts, and the natural environment.

This study focuses on Kandovan village in East Azerbaijan, Iran—one of the few remaining inhabited rocky villages in the world. Kandovan’s unique troglodytic architecture, rooted cultural heritage, and pristine mountainous environment make it an ideal setting for implementing a regenerative tourism model. However, the village currently faces tourism pressures that threaten its ecological balance and local identity. Therefore, a new conceptual framework is needed to guide its tourism development in a way that enhances ecological resilience, cultural depth, and community well-being.

The goal of this study is to develop a conceptual model of regenerative tourism tailored to the ecological, psychological, and cultural characteristics of Kandovan. The model draws on interdisciplinary foundations, including environmental psychology, eco-therapy, biophilic design, and rural development, to propose a holistic approach that moves beyond economic metrics toward human and ecological flourishing.

Methodology

This research follows a qualitative, developmental, and exploratory methodology, using inductive content analysis to construct a conceptual model grounded in academic theory and empirical insights. The data collection process began with a systematic literature review, drawing from 118 scientific sources across databases such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, SID, and Magiran. From these, 42 studies (2012–2023) were selected based on relevance to themes such as psychological restoration, nature-based healing, meaningful tourism experiences, and place attachment.

The data analysis proceeded in three stages:

Open Coding: Extraction of 235 initial codes representing recurring concepts across the selected studies. These codes included ideas like “restorative landscapes,” “emotional bonding with place,” “eco-therapy through nature immersion,” and “rural authenticity.”

Axial Coding: These codes were synthesized into 10 thematic categories,

such as:

1. Psychological Connectedness to Nature;

2. Eco-psychological Healing;

3. Spiritual Place-Making;

4. Therapeutic Aesthetics;

5. Place Attachment;

6. Mindful Experience;

7. Regenerative / Restorative Landscape Quality;

8. Place Identity;

9. Soothing Social Interaction;

10. Rural Landscape Revitalization.

Selective Coding: Finally, the themes were consolidated into three major dimensions:

1. Eco-psychological Healing;

2. Conscious Eco-experientiality;

3. Regenerative Place-making and Soothing Social Interaction.

These three dimensions form the backbone of the proposed model of regenerative tourism for Kandovan.

Results and discussion

The resulting conceptual model reflects an integrative and multi-dimensional approach to regenerative tourism. It emphasizes the transformation of tourism from a passive consumption activity into a co-creative, healing, and participatory experience.

Dimension 1: Eco-psychological Healing. This dimension draws from theories of restorative environments, eco-psychology, and nature-based healing. Tourists are not merely visitors but participants in psychological and emotional restoration through contact with nature. In the case of Kandovan, the rocky landscape, fresh mountain air, silence, and biodiversity provide ideal conditions for mental clarity, stress reduction, and spiritual reconnection.

Dimension 2: Conscious Eco-experientiality. This dimension emphasizes place identity, cultural meaning, and embodied experiences. Tourism activities should be designed to foster authentic interaction with the history, traditions, and daily life of the village. Examples include:

Participating in local farming and handicrafts

Listening to community elders' stories

Experiencing traditional foods and rituals

Such immersive encounters deepen visitors’ sense of belonging while reinforcing the cultural confidence of local residents.

Dimension 3: Regenerative Place-making and Soothing Social Interaction. Regenerative tourism cannot succeed without local participation, empowerment, and shared decision-making. This dimension focuses on bottom-up planning, capacity building, and reinvesting tourism revenue into community well-being and ecosystem restoration. Residents must be seen as co-creators of tourism, not passive beneficiaries.

In Kandovan, this might involve:

Training local guides in eco-tourism interpretation

Establishing community-based accommodation

Encouraging youth entrepreneurship in cultural tourism.

Conclusion

This study proposes a context-sensitive conceptual model of regenerative tourism that integrates environmental, psychological, and cultural dimensions. Rooted in the unique identity and landscape of Kandovan, the model challenges conventional tourism paradigms by focusing on healing relationships—between humans and nature, tourists and locals, the past and the future.

By prioritizing regenerative over exploitation and participation over commodification, regenerative tourism has the potential to transform places like Kandovan into living laboratories of sustainability and cultural resilience. The model serves not only as a theoretical framework but also as a practical guide for policymakers, tourism planners, and local stakeholders seeking to implement regenerative tourism in rural and ecologically sensitive areas.

Keywords: Cultural regeneration, Nature therapy, Psychological well-being in Natural spaces, Experiential tourism.