The entrepreneurial ecosystem refers to the collection of individuals, organizations, processes, regulations, and events within a defined geographical area that influence entrepreneurial activities and may either facilitate or hinder an individual's decision to become an entrepreneur. This study aims to assess the evaluate the influence within the ecotourism entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Sorkhabad Protected Area. The research is developmental in purpose and descriptive-survey in method. The region’s ecotourism potential and biodiversity were assessed through a step-by-step survey, resulting in regional zoning, while potential ecotourism opportunities were identified via expert consultation. The desirability of ecosystem indicators was evaluated using one-sample T-tests based on responses from 126 tourism-related business owners selected through purposive non-probability sampling. Additionally, the influence of 14 indicators and 42 items was analyzed via a census of 30 ecotourism experts in Zanjan Province using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method in “Smart PLS” software. Indicators were derived from the 2022 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, and the reliability of the questionnaires was confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.781 (experts) and 0.933 (business owners). Results showed that only four indicators “venture capital” (3.45), “risk acceptance” (3.16), “opportunity-based startups” (3.13), and “cultural support” (3.02) were relatively favorable. The measurement, structural, and overall models demonstrated good fit at the 95% confidence level. “Opportunity recognition” (0.81), “human capital” (0.79), “startup creation skills” (0.75), and “networking” (0.72) had the strongest influence, while “innovation in process” (0.35) and “venture capital” (0.31) had the weakest. yielding coefficients of 0.781 for the expert group and 0.933 for the business owners.