A Temporal and Spatial Analysis of Climate on Tourism in Qazvin Province

Extended Abstract
 
 Qazvin Province, which is known as the gate to paradise, has recorded more than a thousand historical monuments; it contains twelve percents of total historical monuments being the first in rank in the country. Using thermal comfort index of (PMV) in 11 weather stations inside and around Qazvin province, the tourism climate in different weather conditions is studied. The results show that comfort conditions are dominant among months of the year except December, January and February. The sunny and calm weather conditions are an extent thermal comfort all year round. In addition, maximum extent of climatic comfort conditions belong to the months of March, April and November in the sunny weather and calm, cloudy and calm occurs. Comfort conditions usually occur in areas of the province that have the highest rate of natural, historical and cultural tourist attractions.
 
Introduction
 Tourism is an important, even a vital, source of income for many countries. Its importance was recognized in the Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 as "an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on social, cultural, ecologic, educational, and economic sectors of national societies and on their international relations. In 1941, Hunziker and Krapf defined tourism as people who travel "the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity". Qazvin Province, which is known as the gate of paradise, has recorded more than a thousand historical monuments which means twelve percent of all historical monuments of Iran. Additionally, the climatic variation of Qazvin has given this area a great potential in the field of natural tourism. Therefore, due to the existence of a high potential of tourism in this province the research is trying to use index PMV to zone monthly tourism attractions in Qazvin province, according to the factors climate of the region and prepare tourism climate calendar to help tourists choose the best time to travel to the province.
Thermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation. The main factors that influence thermal comfort are those that determine heat gain and loss, namely metabolic rate, clothing insulation, air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air speed and relative humidity. Psychological parameters such as individual expectations also affect thermal comfort.
Materials and Methods
  In this study using thermal comfort index of (PMV) by 11 weather stations inside and around Qazvin province, Tourism Climate in different climate conditions in province is studied. Such climatic elements as air temperature, vapor pressure according to HP, relative humidity, wind speed in meters per second and the amount of cloud in the sky according to octa is used. PMV is a seven degree division of thermal sensation that ranges from -5/3 to +5/3 changes; if the PMV index values between -0/5 and 0/5 is the thermal comfort conditions. The predicted mean Vote (PMV) model stands among the most recognized thermal comfort models. It was developed using principles of heat balance and experimental data collected in a controlled climate chamber under steady state conditions.
Discussion and Results
The results show that comfort conditions at cloudy times with wind and sun exist in all months except the months of December, January and February. Sunny and calm weather conditions are an extent thermal comfort all year round. In addition, maximum extent of climatic comfort conditions belong to  March, April and November when the weather is  calm and cloudy  . Comfort conditions throughout the year, usually occurs in areas of the province that have the highest rate of natural tourist attractions, historical and cultural.
Conclusion
 Qazvin province has economic, cultural, historical and social capabilities.  Furthermore, in terms of location and climate, it has favorable conditions in the country. Therefore it seems that there should be a proper study of climate of the region through using scientific and quantitative methods accepted in the world. This can help show the potentials and capabilities of its climatic by offering    proper strategy for managers, planners and investors in the tourism sector.