Comparative evaluation of geomorphosites in the desert regions of the city of Shahrood in line with the sustainable development of tourism

In tourism studies, sustainable development should be placed at the center of investigation so that no problem would be created in the field of environmental planning through any incorrect operation of attractions. In the city of Shahrood, despite the existence of geomorphosites with tourism potentials of desert and desertification, no systematic research has been done yet on evaluating the geological sites in order to introduce the attractions associated with them. This study aims to evaluate these geomorphosites using geomorphotourist methods of Pereira and phasilus. For this purpose, at first the geological sites are located using aerial photographs and field operations. In the second phase, geological evaluation of the site is conducted by using appropriate evaluation models. The results show that the employed methods are capable of considering many different variables and serve as useful models for assessing geomorphosites. It is also shown that the Toroud desert in both of these methods has earned the highest score. The won 15 points  by Pereira and  37.45 points by phasilis, hence the most suitable site for development of tourism. Overall, the results show that the desert areas of this city have strong potential in tourism development. Unfortunately, so far, these places have been ignored by planners and decision-makers. Actually, there are no infrastructures in order to attract tourists to the region.