Typology of the ecotourism development approach and an evaluation from the sustainability view: The case of Mazandaran Province, Iran

•Ecotourism development approach in the Mazandaran Province is analyzed.•Typology of ecotourism planning approach is crucial to identify causes of negative impacts of ecotourism.•Lake of local involvement has led to unsuccessful ecotourism in the Mazandaran Province.

This paper identifies the ecotourism development approach in the Mazandaran Province of northern Iran. It also evaluates the sustainability of this approach from local people's perspectives. Thirty indicators were developed for the typology of the approach and the respondents were key figures in the province's tourism sector. To evaluate the sustainability of this approach, 31 indicators were established, and based on cluster sampling and Cochran's method, 600 questionnaires were completed in 6 target cities in the Mazandaran Province. The study's findings show that ecotourism development in this region is based on a ‘hybrid approach’ (the combination of boosterism and economic factors), which have led to an unequal power interrelationships and interactions between the natural environment and human, and host and guest. Evaluating the sustainability of ecotourism, from local people's perspectives, has revealed that ecotourism in the Mazandaran province has failed to be sustainable.