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1 - تحلیل شبکه¬های اجتماعی؛ رویکردی نو در توسعۀ گردشگری روستایی
mehdi hesam

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2 - سنجش کیفیت عملکرد مقصدهای گردشگری میراث (مورد مطالعه : مجموعه تاریخی میربزرگ آمل)
nazanin Tabrizi

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3 - بررسی احساس امنیت گردشگران مذهبی در اماکن فراغتی (مورد مطالعه : شهر مشهد)

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4 - Phenomenological approach in tourism studies
Saeed Shariati

Tourism studies globally, and specifically in Iran have been mainly based on positivistic approach and quantitative techniques. Adopting new insight, perception and definitions in the field of tourism based on the idea that people have their own feelings, values and ins More

Tourism studies globally, and specifically in Iran have been mainly based on positivistic approach and quantitative techniques. Adopting new insight, perception and definitions in the field of tourism based on the idea that people have their own feelings, values and insight (personal) toward surrounding phenomena and that they can make a precise presentation of them, necessitates taking qualitative and interpretive approach in tourism studies. Phenomenology with the emphasis on humanistic and experimental dimension of tourism, provides researchers the opportunity to look at tourism from those who are experiencing it; tourists’ point of view. This article reviews some highly referenced papers in order to show how phenomenology, specifically in hermeneutic, interprets tourists’ experience and that how social science researchers can apply phenomenology to their tourism studies. Manuscript profile

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5 - Typology of Cultural Tourism Action (Case Study: Mashhad pilgrims and tourists)
Sahar Eghbali Mozhgan Azimi Hashemi Hamed Bakhshi

10.52547/journalitor.35131.3.6.1

This study analyzes different types of cultural tourism action and its influencing factors among the pilgrims and tourists in Mashhad. The authors’ theoretical approach is a combination of motivation, attitude and Bourdieu’s capital theory.In this research required data More

This study analyzes different types of cultural tourism action and its influencing factors among the pilgrims and tourists in Mashhad. The authors’ theoretical approach is a combination of motivation, attitude and Bourdieu’s capital theory.In this research required data were collected by means of a questionnaire with the sample size of 302, pilgrims and tourists, in Mashhad during March 2013(Iranian New Year holidays). Based on the research findings, the cultural tourists are divided into three categories: “specific cultural tourists” including tourists whose traveling aim is visiting cultural destination, “general cultural tourists” including tourists that during their travels, they will visit cultural destinations as well and “incidental cultural tourists” including tourists that accidentally and unknowingly will visit cultural destinations. Also, the results indicated that facilities will affect both attitudes and motivations toward cultural travel. Coefficient of determination model showed that the entered variables explain 45 % of the dependent variable variations (cultural travel action) and education level have the greatest effect on the variable of cultural travel action. Regarding the results, there are appropriate potential in order to promote cultural tourism, which will help tourists to gain more experiences while visiting cultural attractions and /or taking part in cultural events. Furthermore, it seems educated people are the main participants of this type of tourism. Manuscript profile

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6 - Factors Affecting satisfaction and support of tourism in rural areas (Case study: Masjedsoleiman, Andika, and Lali Counties)
alireza ahmadi

One of the effective factors in the process of developing tourism is to consider the host community in the tourism areas and their satisfaction of such activities. Success of each tourism project is required raising knowledge and determination of effective factors on sa More

One of the effective factors in the process of developing tourism is to consider the host community in the tourism areas and their satisfaction of such activities. Success of each tourism project is required raising knowledge and determination of effective factors on satisfaction and support of host community. Because of this, the study was aimed to determine the effective factors influencing the local residents’ satisfaction of tourism and also their support of this activity. In this research, a survey method was conducted. The population of this study includes all rural areas’ residents of Masjedsoleiman, Andika and Lali counties in Khuzestan province which benefits from Stratified random sampling with the sample size of 250. Data was collected by using questionnaires which its validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was approved by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α = 0/63 to 0/92). The results of the correlation test showed that the residents’ satisfaction of tourist areas has a meaningful relation (0/1) with perceived quality (r = 0/342), perceived image (r = 0/178), and commitment (r = 0/481) variables; and residents’ support variable (r = 0/442) was significantly associated and has a meaningful relation (0/1) with the variables of perceived quality (0/5), perceived value (0/179), perceived image (r =0/328), commitment (r = 0/567) and satisfaction (r = 0/451). Moreover, the results of regression analysis indicated that the variables of commitment, satisfaction and perceived image could explain a total of 38/2 % of the variations in residents’ support, and also the variable of perceived quality could explain a total of 11.7 % of the variation in residents’ satisfaction. Manuscript profile

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7 - The effect of religious tourism on quality of life and social capital of rural households (Case Study: Bardy village, Dehloran County).
Javad Alibeigi

Religious tourism is one of the oldest forms of tourism that has been considered by human beings which caused changes in the quality of life and social capital of the host society through changes between their interactions. This phenomenon is more obvious in third world More

Religious tourism is one of the oldest forms of tourism that has been considered by human beings which caused changes in the quality of life and social capital of the host society through changes between their interactions. This phenomenon is more obvious in third world countries’ rural areas that are experiencing their early stages of tourism development. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of religious tourism on quality of life and social capital of rural households in Bardi village, Dehloran County. This is an applied research, which benefits from descriptive and analytical method. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire, interviews, observation and desk research while data analysis was done through descriptive and inferential statistics method (Friedman and Wilcoxon tests). The study population was 165 households and 857 people of Bardy village according to 2011 census. Accordingly 102 households were chosen as sample size based on Cochran formula. Research findings show that religious tourism has affected and improved their quality of life in all aspects, including social, environmental (higher than average) and economical, physical (on average), also research findings regarding the social capital component shows that, after the expansion of religious tourism, social participation, social networks and social cohesion has improved, but the aspect of social trust has been reduced dramatically. Manuscript profile

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8 - Analysis of Local, National and Global Geographical Scales’ Effects on Kurdistan’s tourism development
Mokhtar Bahrami

Tourism is a complex and multidimensional industry that planning for its development needs consistency and convergence of actions in different levels of decision-making. Tourism development is possible when practical actions in local scale will be aligned with macro pol More

Tourism is a complex and multidimensional industry that planning for its development needs consistency and convergence of actions in different levels of decision-making. Tourism development is possible when practical actions in local scale will be aligned with macro policy-making in national scale and current trends in global scale. This research intends to survey the effects of local, national and global scales on the tourism development in Kurdistan province and then while determining the most affecting scale in tourism development in the studied area, identifying the most important factors in the mentioned triple scales that prevent developing of tourism in that area. This research is an applied analytical-descriptive study which benefits from qualitative methodology. The data were collected through desk research and field survey. Main assumption of this research is that national scale due to its interstitial nature has the most influence on tourism underdevelopment and political factors that necessarily are not related to tourism, are the most important causes of tourism underdevelopment in Kurdistan province. The field and desk research findings approve both assumptions of research. This means that national, global and local scales respectively have the most influence on emergence of status quo and “weakness of transport infrastructure”, “security and political approach towards the local community” in local scale, “political and religious ideological approach towards tourism policy making” in national scale and “strained political relations between Iran and the West” in global scale are the most important factors in tourism underdevelopment in Kurdistan province. Manuscript profile

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9 - Social Aspect Analysis of Tourism Sustainable Entrepreneurship Management in Hotel Industry Case Study: 4 and 5 Star Hotels of Tehran
Abdoreza Roknodin

Entrepreneurship is a crucial element in the social, organizational and personal success. One of the important approaches in entrepreneurship is social entrepreneurship which seems to be a beneficial instrument in reaching businesses' social sustainability. Social dimen More

Entrepreneurship is a crucial element in the social, organizational and personal success. One of the important approaches in entrepreneurship is social entrepreneurship which seems to be a beneficial instrument in reaching businesses' social sustainability. Social dimension is one of the most important one in sustainability. Also, in tourism industry, there is an extensive interaction between people and many social consequences, therefor, more importance would be attached to the social challenges. Hotels as one of the most important sectors of tourism industry have various impacts on the society and the environment but implications of tourism businesses (including hotels) commitment to the social sustainability principles in Iran are limited. So that, current paper will answer the following question: what is the level of attention to social aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship management in Iran’s hotels? In order to answer this question, surveys and observation were used in 17, 4 and 5 star hotels of Tehran. Moreover, 5 objective indicators related to hotels’ sustainable social activities were observed and the outcomes were compared with the surveys results. Questionnaires were distributed among 17 managers, 213 employees, 96 guests and 196 neighbors of hotels. One sample T test, two sample T test and ANOVA analysis were used in order to test the research hypothesis. Gained results indicate the difference between surveys outcome and the observed facts. Manuscript profile

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10 - Prioritizing Tourist Attractions in Yazd from the perspective of Asian and European tourists
Mojtaba Mahmoodzadeh

Although Yazd has a variety of cultural and natural attractions, but the importance of each of these from the perspective of foreign tourists is not entirely clear. The aim of this study is to identify and classify tourist attractions in Yazd and prioritizing them from More

Although Yazd has a variety of cultural and natural attractions, but the importance of each of these from the perspective of foreign tourists is not entirely clear. The aim of this study is to identify and classify tourist attractions in Yazd and prioritizing them from the perspective of experts and Asian and European tourists. To realize the objectives, first with the help of desk research, tourist attractions in Yazd were divided into two main categories and sub-categories, then in order to prioritize the main tourist attractions from the perspective of experts, fuzzy EHP technique was used. Also to prioritize sub-categories of each of the main attractions from the perspective of Asian and European tourists by the survey, a questionnaire was designed. Sample size of this study consists of 111 Asian tourists and 103 European tourists who had traveled to Yazd in 2014. To prioritize the views of European and Asian tourists, VIKOR fuzzy technique was used. The results showed that tourism experts in Yazd, has divided the main tourist attractions in order of preference to the five main categories (1. Cultural attractions / man-made created with a purpose other than to attract tourists, 2. Intangible cultural attractions, 3. Cultural attractions / man-made created with the primary purpose of attracting tourists, 4. Natural attractions 5. Events) with 15 sub-categories. Accordingly attractions' prioritization was investigated from the perspective of Asian and European tourists and no significant difference was observed. Manuscript profile

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11 - Socio - economic factors affecting overnight stays of domestic tourists (case study: Mashhad)
Hadi Rafiy

Tourist overnight stays is a key factor in decision making process for tourists and it has a fundamental importance for tourism destinations. Length of stay is one of the most important determinants of tourism which affects the economy of a region. Mashhad is one of the More

Tourist overnight stays is a key factor in decision making process for tourists and it has a fundamental importance for tourism destinations. Length of stay is one of the most important determinants of tourism which affects the economy of a region. Mashhad is one of the tourist destinations which its tourists and pilgrims was increased in number but their average length of stay was decreased recently. According to statistics, about 75 percent of pilgrims and tourists of Mashhad stay less than a week and only 25% of them are staying more than one week and the overnight stay average of Mashhad pilgrims is 5/43 days. The main objective of this study is to identify the socio-economic factors affecting the overnight stays of tourists and pilgrims in Mashhad. For this purpose, 692 questionnaires were completed randomly among tourists and pilgrims of Mashhad in spring 2015. Data were evaluated by Ordered Logit Model. The length of stay (the dependent variable) is classified into three groups; less than five days, between 5 to 7 days and more than 7 days. Results showed that the type of trip (Lonely), the frequency of traveling to Mashhad , the number of family members accompanying during the trips, food preparing ways and education level, have significant negative effects and the type of transportation (train) and income level (between 10.000.000 – 20.000.000 IRR) have significant positive effects on tourists and pilgrims overnight stay in Mashhad. Manuscript profile

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12 - Tourists’ Motivations for Traveling to Isfahan: A Comparative Study Concerning Both Genders
Mohammad

This study aims to identify and compare domestic tourists’ motives of travelling to Isfahan between men and women. The population of this research was domestic tourists who had traveled to Isfahan during April and May 2016, which among them a sample of 400 tourists was More

This study aims to identify and compare domestic tourists’ motives of travelling to Isfahan between men and women. The population of this research was domestic tourists who had traveled to Isfahan during April and May 2016, which among them a sample of 400 tourists was randomly selected. The data was collected by a questionnaire consists of 40 questions. To analyze the data, exploratory factor analysis and independent t-test were used. The results revealed nine travel motives for domestic tourists; historical and cultural motives, visiting relatives and friends, shopping, accompanying family and friends, recreation and having fun, low-cost trip, city attractions, enjoying a safe travel, and work motivation. The results also showed that there was a significant difference between men and women in terms of historical and cultural motives, recreation and having fun, shopping, accompanying family and friends, domestic attractions, and enjoying a safe travel. The results also demonstrated that there was no significant difference between women and men in terms of enjoying a safe travel, visiting relatives and friends, and work motivation. Manuscript profile

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13 - Geniality, Deception, and Profiteering: the pilgrims’ perception of retail stores in Mashhad

Mashhad is one of the largest religious tourism markets in Iran and in the Muslim world. Sustainable development of this market is dependent on mutual satisfaction of service providers and tourists as customers. One of the important sectors of tourism services is shoppi More

Mashhad is one of the largest religious tourism markets in Iran and in the Muslim world. Sustainable development of this market is dependent on mutual satisfaction of service providers and tourists as customers. One of the important sectors of tourism services is shopping and souvenirs, which is mainly provided by retailers. Therefore, this paper tries to identify the tourists’ perceptions of these retailers in Mashhad. In the field of customer satisfaction, customer perception of service provider- customer interaction, is one of the dimensions of service qualities which determine tourists’ shopping experience. For data collection, a random number of 410 pilgrims who have visited the holy shrine of Imam Reza were asked to describe retailers in Mashhad. Collected data was analyzed by quantitative and qualitative content analysis method, pilgrims’ answers were categorized and then the frequency of each category was calculated. The results revealed that three categories of Profiteering, Deception, and Geniality, respectively include 40.7, 36.3, and 27.1 percent of the responses, which are the highest frequencies among the traits attributed to retailers. This could mean that pilgrims’ image of retailers is a person who uses deception and geniality strategies for his profiteering goals. It seems that temporal characteristic of tourist-buyers, as well as tourists’ insists for discounting, lead retailers to "flexible deception" strategies which more guarantee their interests. Manuscript profile

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14 - راهکارهاي توسعۀ گردشگري سالمندي با رويکرد تکنيك مدل¬سازي ساختاري تفسيري (ISM) در استان یزد
Mir Mohhammad Asadi

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15 - تحلیل شبکه روابط میان زنان شاغل در بخش گردشگری و غیرگردشگری در راستای توسعۀ گردشگری در جزیره‌ هرمز
حنانه محمدی کنگرانی

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16 - باورهای جامعه روستایی دربارۀ اثرات توسعۀ گردشگری روستایی (مورد مطالعه: روستای فش، شهرستان کنگاور)

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17 - Evaluating the socio– cultural impact of tourism on the host community (case study: Baneh)
mehdi karoubi Mohammad r

The presence of tourists at every country will influence the pattern of life, of the local people. Also, visitors will be affected by the culture and existing values of the host country. In this research, we studied the positive and negative effects of tourism developme More

The presence of tourists at every country will influence the pattern of life, of the local people. Also, visitors will be affected by the culture and existing values of the host country. In this research, we studied the positive and negative effects of tourism development on the host community. This research was conducted by survey method and benefited of schedule interview (Baneh households). The sample size of this research was 369 (people) and it was done through Multi-stage cluster sampling method. Cronbach's alpha was 70 percent which showed relatively a high reliability. Regression analysis has been considered for the data analysis and hypotheses testing. Analysis of the data, shows that the most efficient factor in prediction of dependent variable "change in the host community", is cultural change. After that, conspicuous consumption and cultural adaption have the highest influence on the host community attitude change. Cultural Commodification has lower effect on changing the host community attitude comparing to other indicators. Manuscript profile

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18 - Exploring the Souvenir purchasing behaviour (Case study: Mashhad Pilgrims)

Souvenir purchasing is not only a memento of travel experience, but also a tourist attraction. Furthermore, souvenir shopping is an integral component of one’s travel experience which has a significant proportion of overall travel expenditure in tourism industry turnove More

Souvenir purchasing is not only a memento of travel experience, but also a tourist attraction. Furthermore, souvenir shopping is an integral component of one’s travel experience which has a significant proportion of overall travel expenditure in tourism industry turnover. As a result, market identification is of critical importance to producers, marketers, wholesaler and retailers. However, regarding the souvenir purchasing behaviour not much research has been conducted and this subject is still under study in Iran. With a great number of tourist arrivals and various types of souvenir, Mashhad has a great potential to be considered as a case study. So, the aim of this paper is to explore; what will pilgrims buy and what factors will drive their purchasing behaviour? Accordingly, secondary data analysis has been conducted on the gathered data from Mashhad pilgrims 2010 and 2011 survey. Based on the pilgrims' dominant purchasing choices, four different behaviour was identified: purchasing of cultural symbols, purchasing of local foods, mixed purchasing behaviour of clothes, accessories and cultural signs, and non-purchase behaviour. The most common observed, purchasing behaviour was "mixed purchasing behaviour of clothes, accessories and cultural signs". In addition, the logistic regression test showed that purchasing behaviour was determined by age, place of residence (city), tourist's dominant behaviour in travel (pilgrimage), travel style (travelling in a group or alone) and frequency of travel. Those variables predicted 23% of variance of souvenir purchasing behaviour. Manuscript profile

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19 - The Framework for Formulating Tourism Policies of Islamic Republic of Iran
Hamid Zargham Boroojeni

In this article, the researchers have tried to propose a model for formulating tourism policies of Iran in accordance to tourism policies of Five-Year Economic, Social and Cultural Plan and that of Iran Vision of 2025. Hence, a questionnaire composed of 15 questions (wi More

In this article, the researchers have tried to propose a model for formulating tourism policies of Iran in accordance to tourism policies of Five-Year Economic, Social and Cultural Plan and that of Iran Vision of 2025. Hence, a questionnaire composed of 15 questions (with Likert scale) was distributed among tourism experts (university professors, tourism experts at Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization and etc.). The data was then analyzed by use of Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmative Factor Analysis. The results showed that there are four factors (Economic and Supportive, Political, Marketing and Development and Cultural) that can be considered for policy making of Iran, more specifically for future formulation of tourism policies of Iran. The results also showed that marketing and development policies are of highest priority (regarding the experts’ point of view). The importance of different variables was also examined in this article. Manuscript profile

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20 - The effect of tourists’ self-concept on satisfaction and their intention to recommend the tourist destination )Case study: Mashhad, Chalidarreh Dam(

Individual self-concept explains and predicts different facets of consumer behavior. This study examined the effects of tourist self-concept on their intention to recommend destination, travel satisfaction and travel experience. The population of this study includes all More

Individual self-concept explains and predicts different facets of consumer behavior. This study examined the effects of tourist self-concept on their intention to recommend destination, travel satisfaction and travel experience. The population of this study includes all tourists who were visiting Chalidarreh dam, among them 308 was selected randomly as the research sample. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire and were analyzed by structural equation modeling and LISREL software. The results show, the perception of travel experience, facilitates the relationship between ideal self-concept and travel satisfaction of tourists. Also the travel satisfaction, facilitates the relationship between perceived experience of travel and the intention to recommend tourist destination. The results of this study can improve the perception of managers which will provide a better understanding of tourist behavior and policy making in the field of tourism marketing. Manuscript profile

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21 - Analyzing the barriers of rural tourism development (Case study: Fash Village Kangavar city, Kermanshah province)

Rural tourism is considered as an employment factor and income generator that can be an important solution for social and economic development of rural communities as well as protecting the rural culture and environment. The first step in the development of rural touris More

Rural tourism is considered as an employment factor and income generator that can be an important solution for social and economic development of rural communities as well as protecting the rural culture and environment. The first step in the development of rural tourism is to identify its barriers and challenges. This study will analyze the barriers and challenges of rural tourism, through a qualitative paradigm and a grounded theory, also analysis of variance (ANOVA) was explored in the case study, the village of Fash from Kangavar. Data collection was conducted through, in-depth interviews, direct observations and desk research. The validity of this research was confirmed by experts and specialists such as university professors, experts and managers in Iranin Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO). By using MaxQDA, as a valuable qualitative analyzing software, themes, percentage and frequency of codes were analyzed. The results of the study showed that the main barriers of rural tourism development are: economic problems, socio-cultural problems, managerial-infrastructural problems and informational and publicity problems. Analyze of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey tests revealed that, from villagers’ point of view, the managerial-infrastructural problem has a higher impact whereas experts considered the same range of impact for informational and publicity problems as a barrier for rural tourism development. Manuscript profile

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22 - Factors affecting women empowerment with an emphasis on tourism (Case study: Sisakht city)

The present study aims to identify and analyze the factors, affecting empowerment of women with an emphasis on tourism in Sishokht. This is an analytical descriptive study. The research population includes, 2000 women over the age of 15. The sample size of 322 women was More

The present study aims to identify and analyze the factors, affecting empowerment of women with an emphasis on tourism in Sishokht. This is an analytical descriptive study. The research population includes, 2000 women over the age of 15. The sample size of 322 women was selected through simple random sampling. A researcher made questionnaire was used as a main tool for gathering data which its content validity was confirmed by university professors. The calculated Cronbach's alpha, for Leading factors was 817% and for Restricting factors was 756%, which prooved the research instrument has the needed reliability. The results of data analysis, by using factorial analysis, suggested that leading factors by the sum of 0.56 determined dependent variance, with four factors, have a role in women's empowerment; economic factors by identifying 18.341 of total variance of dependent variables, is the first and most important factor. Limiting factors with the sum of 0.58, identified as a dependent variance which have role, with six factors, in restricting tourism development and women's empowerment, and economic factor by 14.221, which is identifying the total variance of dependent variables, was considered as the first factor in limiting factors. Manuscript profile

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23 - The Effect of Perceived Service Quality, Satisfaction and Trust of Health Tourists on Their Revisiting and Reusing the Hospitals and

Health tourism is becoming a developing sector in the tourism industry. It involves economic grounds; creates job opportunities; introduces different cultures; and even holds political interests for the countries. Health tourism has many economic benefits for the countr More

Health tourism is becoming a developing sector in the tourism industry. It involves economic grounds; creates job opportunities; introduces different cultures; and even holds political interests for the countries. Health tourism has many economic benefits for the countries that are active in this industry. Health tourism is an emerging field, and there are serious competitions among countries that try to attract health tourists and keep them satisfied during their stay. This study aims to investigate the effect of perceived service quality, satisfaction, and trust of health tourists revisiting and reusing the hospitals and health centers in Mashhad. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Based on a judgmental sampling method, 206 people were selected from the international health tourists. Structural equation modeling was employed. Results confirmed there was a direct and positive relation between the perceived service quality and the customers’ satisfaction. Also, the hypothesis proved the positive effect of customers’ satisfaction on their trusting healthcare centers and their staff. Results also approved the effect of customers’ trust on their future decisions to return to the same places of treatments. Manuscript profile

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24 - Analysis of Tourists’ Social Responsibility in Tourist Villages (Case study area: Tourist Villages of Khaf Township)
Hamdollah Sojasi Qeidari

Inappropriate behavior and odd recreational activities by tourists may have direct or indirect negative impact on the destination. Reducing the negative effects of tourism on the environment is a priority and main concern. Accordingly, a responsible environmental behavi More

Inappropriate behavior and odd recreational activities by tourists may have direct or indirect negative impact on the destination. Reducing the negative effects of tourism on the environment is a priority and main concern. Accordingly, a responsible environmental behavior is important and necessary while achieving sustainable tourism development. This study was conducted in the spring of 2016 to analyze the social responsibility of rural tourists. The methodology was analytical-descriptive, using the library and field study (questionnaire). The study population comprised 228 tourists from 14 rural areas of Khaf. Data were collected using a stratified random sampling method with a questionnaire, which was based on the 5-fold elements of social responsibility in the literature. The reliability of the measurement tool was (0.869) based on Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The results and findings of this study suggested the sample stayed higher than the favorable average number of 3 in terms of social responsibility component. In other words, tourists visiting these villages feel more responsible towards the different aspects of rural attractions. Manuscript profile

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25 - Systematic Review of Research Papers in the Field of Tourism Social Studies
Mozhgan Azimi Hashemi zahra bostan

Reviewing research in any field provides a clear understating of theoretical approaches, methods, and techniques used in that field. It also expresses theoretical and methodological developments. In addition to general issues about the nature and evolution of scientific More

Reviewing research in any field provides a clear understating of theoretical approaches, methods, and techniques used in that field. It also expresses theoretical and methodological developments. In addition to general issues about the nature and evolution of scientific knowledge, Paradigmatic topics and new studies on tourism (which can provide theories on the evolution of tourism knowledge), systematic reviews provide verifiable and firm conclusions about the evolution of research on a relevant topic. In order to reveal insights and social thoughts about tourism, this article utilized content analysis to review the social studies of tourism in scientific journals in Iran. According to Cohen’s sociology of tourism, tourism social studies are classified into four categories: (a) the tourist-his motivations, attitudes, reactions, and roles; (b) the relations and perceptions of tourists and locals; (c) the structure of the tourist system; and (d) impacts of tourism. Research findings show that the structure of the tourist system is the most prevalent social issue in the Iranian scholars’ research. Tourists, impacts of tourism, and the relations and perceptions of tourists and locals are in the next places respectively. The results show that tourism is not popular among sociologists in Iran. Geographers are more active in producing and publishing social issues of tourism, and they have published most of the articles in all of the four categories. Results do not show growth in interdisciplinary studies of tourism but they confirm multidisciplinary research that was carried out mainly by using quantitative methods and through surveys of stakeholders and experts. The results show that there are many conceptual and methodological gaps in the development of knowledge between the tourism industry and its impact on policy-making, development, and management of commercial tourism in Iran. Manuscript profile

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26 - The Impact of Co-branding Elements on Customers’ Satisfaction and Loyalty in Chain Restaurants in Tehran
Jafar Ahangaran رضا اصلاني

Restaurant management is one of the important subsets of the tourism industry that makes tourist destinations more attractive. Additionally, food can be a cultural signifier and promote different cultural perspectives. Emerging concepts like co-branding can develop and More

Restaurant management is one of the important subsets of the tourism industry that makes tourist destinations more attractive. Additionally, food can be a cultural signifier and promote different cultural perspectives. Emerging concepts like co-branding can develop and improve the status of restaurant management in Iran. This research surveyed the impact of co-branding elements on customers’ satisfaction and loyalty in chain restaurants in Tehran. This is an applied research. Data are qualitative. Methods of data collection are documentary and survey. The statistical population was chain restaurants in Tehran. Data were collected through 268 questionnaires with convenience sampling. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson correlation coefficient, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling have been used for data analysis. Research conceptual model evaluation has been done through partial least square path analysis with PLS software. The results indicated the impact of 3 elements of co-branding strategy on customers’ satisfaction and loyalty. The elements are “Price advantage, rewards-based advertising, and support services.” Co-branding can be an effective marketing strategy for restaurant managers to increase their customers’ satisfaction, and to make a better policy to achieve their goals. Manuscript profile

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27 - Prioritizing Motivations of Iraqi Tourists Visiting the Holy City of Mashhad

Though discussions about tourists’ motivations have witnessed many investigations in recent years, research regarding motivations for religious tourism is in its infancy. Researchers have not reached an exact consensus in distinguishing religious and pilgrimage tourism. More

Though discussions about tourists’ motivations have witnessed many investigations in recent years, research regarding motivations for religious tourism is in its infancy. Researchers have not reached an exact consensus in distinguishing religious and pilgrimage tourism. Success in destination marketing requires a thorough analysis of tourists’ motivations. Therefore, the current study surveyed and prioritized motivations of Iraqi tourists. The study is based on library research, and the use of a questionnaire. In this study, 385 questionnaires were distributed among Iraqi tourists entering the city of Mashhad. 10 hidden variable and 38 items or questions were analyzed. After the final review, 247 questionnaires were accepted. Demographic variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Confirmatory factor analysis was used in analyzing the main variables. Data validity, reliability, and goodness of fit were approved and the Friedman test was used to rank the factors. The results showed that spirituality and self-actualization motives were of the highest priority. Other motivations were: visiting historic-cultural attractions; gaining respect and prestige; family reasons; searching for safety and relaxation; enjoying recreation and leisure; and learning and curiosity motivations. Pull factors were religio-cultural motivations, leisure attractions, and structural features, respectivesly. Manuscript profile

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28 - A Systematic Analysis of Positive and Negative Effects of IRAN Tourism Development Using a Future Study Approach
Amin Faraji Molaei Mohammad

The rapid expansion of the tourism industry, besides positive aspects, can include many negative economic, socio-cultural and environmental issues. This paper, using structural analysis modeling, reviewed and analyzed the previous studies and experts’ opinions. The main More

The rapid expansion of the tourism industry, besides positive aspects, can include many negative economic, socio-cultural and environmental issues. This paper, using structural analysis modeling, reviewed and analyzed the previous studies and experts’ opinions. The main purpose was to develop a model to identify and prioritize the influential positive and negative impacts of tourism on a national scale during tourism development process in Iran. The impacts include: (a) positive and negative economic impacts (including an increase in income, job generation, increasing the cost of living, inflation, etc.); (b) socio-cultural impacts (including an increase in social capital and participation, the revival of local values, increase in social gaps, consumerism, etc.); and (c) environmental impacts (including improving the quality of an environment, promoting the green architecture, reduction of natural per capita, reducing physical capacity, etc.). Structural analysis model was used to analyze the data using the Micmac software. The current study presented and arranged the most important influential and dependency factors in the economic, environmental and socio-cultural dimensions. The study pointed out that to reach a sustainable tourism system, the first priority is to concentrate on the influential negative impacts, especially on the environmental issues. The second priority is to focus on the reduction of the linkage and risk impacts due to their unpredictability. Manuscript profile

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29 - Analyzing the Effective Factors Influencing the Satisfaction of Foreign and National Tourists of Bisotoun Tourism Complex

When discussing the level of tourists’ satisfaction in a specific destination, attention needs to be paid to indicators of satisfaction analysis. Providing needs and expectations of tourists guarantee a higher level of tourist attraction and development. The main questi More

When discussing the level of tourists’ satisfaction in a specific destination, attention needs to be paid to indicators of satisfaction analysis. Providing needs and expectations of tourists guarantee a higher level of tourist attraction and development. The main question of this study was, “What are the main factors which affect the level of tourists’ satisfaction in Bisotoun international tourist destination?” This research is applied, and the method is descriptive analysis. Data collection was based on field observations, library research, and using questionnaires. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistics, including factor analysis method and independent T Test, have been used. Statistical population of this study included national and foreign visitors of Bisotoun international tourism complex. Since the number or the statistical population was unclear, using Cochran, the numbers of required samples were specified as 384 for each group of national and international tourists. The results of the study show that six factors affect tourists’ satisfaction: quality of the environment; quality of services; quality of the host community and their behavior toward tourists; prices of the services; quality of safety; and the quality of transportation services. Results also show that prices of the services, quality of the environment, and transportation services have the highest effect on the satisfaction of the national and international tourists. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

30 - Factors Influencing the Realization of the Green Supply Chain in Iran’s Tourism Industry
Mohammad Hossein Imani khoshkho seyed mohammad mousavi

This research identified and mapped a model of critical factors to realize the green supply chain of tourism industry. Studying the literature and research background, effective factors on the emergence of the green supply chain were identified. In the quantitative phas More

This research identified and mapped a model of critical factors to realize the green supply chain of tourism industry. Studying the literature and research background, effective factors on the emergence of the green supply chain were identified. In the quantitative phase, 100 stakeholders from the tourism industry were selected and were surveyed to identify critical factors in the green supply chain of the tourism industry. Questionnaires were used for data gathering. To analyze the research data, using the statistical analysis and t-test, the coefficient of the significance of the components was determined. To prioritize the indicators and their cause and effect, the Fuzzy Dematel technique was used in the second phase. The results of the analysis showed that all of the 33 identified factors were critical and essential. The analysis of the factors influencing the management of suppliers showed that among the 6 factors, the following three were root causes of the green supply chain: a) providing encouraging services to the supplier to pay attention to and protect the environment; b) considering the environmental characteristics as Quality Requirements Provider; and c) holding meeting with Suppliers. Meanwhile, three other factors are short-term goals in the green supply chain. They included: a) helping suppliers to solve their environmental problems; b) paying attention to environmental principles and adhering to them in holding tenders; and c) efforts to reduce environmental impacts through the timely delivery of supply commitments. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

31 - Consumer Behavior in E-Tourism Services
sakineh jafari Mohammad najjarzadeh rezvan Golestaneh narjes deyrgandom

Today’s tourists are more dependent on the Internet than ever before to search for travel information. They share their travel experiences in cyberspace. The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of travel stimulus variables, information search and the qualit More

Today’s tourists are more dependent on the Internet than ever before to search for travel information. They share their travel experiences in cyberspace. The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of travel stimulus variables, information search and the quality of electronic tourism services on the behavior of young consumers, aged 20 to 40 years. Participants included 182 young people from Tehran (46 male, 105 female), and were selected based on random sampling. Data were analyzed using the structural equation model with LISREL software. The findings showed that the motivation of travel had a significant indirect effect, through the quality of services, on the behavior of the users of electronic tourism services. The study found that the motivation to travel and search information indirectly and through the quality of service could affect the behavior of the consumer of electronic tourism services. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

32 - Motivational Factors in War Tourism: The case of Khorramshahr war museum
نیلوفر رحبی مقدم

In recent tourism studies, motivation is accepted as a crucial variable that explains tourism behavior and is used to understand decision-making and destination selecting. Studies show that many tourists travel to war-related areas, and war memorials are important attra More

In recent tourism studies, motivation is accepted as a crucial variable that explains tourism behavior and is used to understand decision-making and destination selecting. Studies show that many tourists travel to war-related areas, and war memorials are important attractions in these destinations. In Iran, war tourism and war-related sites (e.g. sites of the 8-year-old war) provided real good demands. The purpose of this study was to assess the motivations for travel to war-related tourism destinations. The war museum in Khorramshahr was selected as the case study. This research employed quantitative research methods with 270 valid questionnaires obtained for data analysis. Based on 18 criteria, the motivational factors were classified into four categories: publicity; interest in the acquisition of knowledge and recognition; facilities; and internal factors. Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed that three of the categories, excluding the internal factors, influenced on creating the visitors’ motivation but the most important factor was about interest in acquiring knowledge and recognition (R2=0.645). Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

33 - The Role of Social Responsibilities on Developing Brand Equity in Tourist Destinations: The case of Isfahan
فرزانه عبدالمحمدی

This research investigated the effects of social responsibilities on brand equity in tourism destinations. This is an applied study and follows surveying in goal and method. The statistical population of this study included foreign tourists who traveled to Isfahan and v More

This research investigated the effects of social responsibilities on brand equity in tourism destinations. This is an applied study and follows surveying in goal and method. The statistical population of this study included foreign tourists who traveled to Isfahan and visited Naqshe Jahan Square in summer 2017. Data-collection instrument was a researcher-developed questionnaire based on the literature and it included 40 closed questions. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were examined and confirmed through content and construct validities, and Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient. To analyze the data and to test the hypotheses, both SEM and path analysis were used in the SPSS and LISREL, respectively. The findings showed that social responsibilities in tourism destinations significantly affected brand through brand awareness; perceived value; perceived quality of tourism destination; the brand image of tourism destination; loyalty towards tourism destination. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

34 - Diagnosing Human Relations in Tourism Agencies: The case of tourism agencies in South Khorasan Province
Abolfazi Danaei Amir Ghorbani Abolghasem Raesi

Despite significant changes and developments in the tourism industry in South Khorasan Province, there is almost no systematic and scientific investigation in this area. Given the region’s population, the number of tourism agencies and related activities has increased. More

Despite significant changes and developments in the tourism industry in South Khorasan Province, there is almost no systematic and scientific investigation in this area. Given the region’s population, the number of tourism agencies and related activities has increased. However, these businesses are not stable, and managers of such agencies leave their businesses after a period. Employees, too, dislike their working conditions. This study followed an applied and descriptive approach. The study included all tourism agencies in South Khorasan and considered all their employees. The statistical population comprised 105 employees of tourism agencies. Data were gathered based on a standard questionnaire where scores above 4 showed problems with the functionality of organizations; scores closer to 7 illustrated essential problems; and the scores below 4 showed negligible problems. Weisbord Six-Box Model was used to analyze the data. The results showed that the tourism industry in South Khorasan was not in proper condition and that people working in this area were looking for some improvements in their conditions. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

35 - The Role of Social Responsibilities on Developing Brand Equity in Tourist Destinations: The case of Isfahan
Mohammad ghaffari amirreza konjkav monfared

This research investigated the effects of social responsibilities on brand equity in tourism destinations. This is an applied study and follows surveying in goal and method. The statistical population of this study included foreign tourists who traveled to Isfahan and v More

This research investigated the effects of social responsibilities on brand equity in tourism destinations. This is an applied study and follows surveying in goal and method. The statistical population of this study included foreign tourists who traveled to Isfahan and visited Naqshe Jahan Square in summer 2017. Data-collection instrument was a researcher-developed questionnaire based on the literature and it included 40 closed questions. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were examined and confirmed through content and construct validities, and Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient. To analyze the data and to test the hypotheses, both SEM and path analysis were used in the SPSS and LISREL, respectively. The findings showed that social responsibilities in tourism destinations significantly affected brand through brand awareness; perceived value; perceived quality of tourism destination; the brand image of tourism destination; loyalty towards tourism destination. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

36 - Identifying Goals of Strategic Alliances Case: Medical Tourism Businesses in Iran
Ali Asghar Shalbafian Hashem Aghazadeh hamid Reza Zargham Broujeni Ali Heidari

Strategic alliances stand among the most prominent collaborations between businesses. In service businesses such as tourism, due to heterogeneity in key elements, dominance of SMEs and high sensitivity of the industry regarding the environmental changes, strategic allia More

Strategic alliances stand among the most prominent collaborations between businesses. In service businesses such as tourism, due to heterogeneity in key elements, dominance of SMEs and high sensitivity of the industry regarding the environmental changes, strategic alliances experienced more referrals. There seems to be no comprehensive study on how strategic alliances form in niche areas of tourism, like medical tourism, in Iran. This study focused on identifying the formation of strategic alliances among Iranian medical tourism businesses. Using snowball sampling, 17 experts in medical tourism were selected. Through semi-structured interviews, the data was gathered, and it was analyzed with MAXQDA10 software using theme analysis. Results showed that the goals behind the formation of medical tourism businesses could be categorized in eight key themes: 1) lifting legal barriers; 2) the contingencies of industry; 3) personal interests; 4) organizational goals; 5) customer-related goals; 6) strategic goals; 7) economic goals; 8) securing national interests. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

37 - Social Capital and Loyalty of Pilgrims from Isfahan to Sarshur Neighborhood in Mashhad
neda eidgahian kaseb Mozhgan Azimi Hashemi

A tourist behavior in the destination forms as a meaningful behavior in the form of a social action, of which relationship with others is the most important element. Through the description and analysis of the type and frequency of tourist relationships, and social capi More

A tourist behavior in the destination forms as a meaningful behavior in the form of a social action, of which relationship with others is the most important element. Through the description and analysis of the type and frequency of tourist relationships, and social capital resulting from them, one can predict a tourist behavior, attachment, and loyalty to the destination. This study examined the effect of the relationship network among pilgrims from Isfahan in the host community on their loyalty to Sarshur neighborhood in Mashhad. This research followed the survey method. In 2016, 150 pilgrims from Isfahan were selected during the day of Arbaeen and the week following it. Results showed that the average size of the relationship network of Isfahan pilgrims in Sarshur neighborhood was 2.11 People (range: 0 to 9). The average of the general index of Isfahan pilgrims’ attachment to Sarshur neighborhood was 4.31 (range: 3.06 to 5) and the loyalty index was 4.43 (range: 1 to 5). The results of the model of structural equations by AMOS software showed that two causal ways used in this model can explain 80% of the loyalty variance of Isfahan pilgrims. The social capital of the relationship network among Isfahan pilgrims in this neighborhood increased their attachment. This attachment (through increased satisfaction) caused an increase in tourists’ loyalty. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

38 - The Effect of the Perceived Value of a Brand Image on Purchase Intention Case: Bojnord Candy Souvenir
narges ahanchian zahra nori

The perceived value of a brand is a basic concept for brand purchase and is considered as a valuable and necessary asset. Marketers need to identify the effective factors on brand purchase intention to promote their products and aim for improving the perceived value of More

The perceived value of a brand is a basic concept for brand purchase and is considered as a valuable and necessary asset. Marketers need to identify the effective factors on brand purchase intention to promote their products and aim for improving the perceived value of the brand. This study tried to test the concept in tourism and test the effect of the perceived value of tourists on purchase intention (candy) and brand image. The statistical population was all the tourists who visited the city of Bojnord. Based on Krejcie and Morgan sampling table, 384 tourists were selected randomly. A localized questionnaire was used to collect data. Using structural equation modeling and LISREL, the study investigated the conceptual model and the research hypotheses. The results showed that the perceived value of tourists had a positive and significant effect on the brand image and purchase intention toward the candy. Tourists’ mental image had also a positive and significant effect on the purchase intention. The results showed that the tourism marketers could increase the tendency of tourists to purchase Bojnord candy by improving the index of the perceived value of the candy and by making efforts to brand these local souvenirs, which could lead to developing the tourism industry. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

39 - Modeling for Predicting Domestic Demands for Recreational Tourism in Tehran
ebtehal zandi

Recreational tourism is an important form of domestic tourism in Tehran, based on the statistics of the National Center of Statistics and the views of the experts. This paper tried to propose models for predicting effective variables on predicting domestic demands for r More

Recreational tourism is an important form of domestic tourism in Tehran, based on the statistics of the National Center of Statistics and the views of the experts. This paper tried to propose models for predicting effective variables on predicting domestic demands for recreational tourism in Tehran. The study used the monthly information between 2001 and 2015. The independent variable was the number of domestic recreational tourists in Tehran, and the dependent variables were selected based on Delphi and Fuzzy DEMATEL techniques. The model framework was a combination of regression, the fuzzy neural network, and SVR algorithm. The combinations of these methods helped measure prediction errors and compare methods. Results showed that the proposed hybrid approach of regression and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) could have a better prediction compared to other methods for predicting domestic recreational tourism. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

40 - Sociological Analysis of Factors Influencing Destination Loyalty
طیبر ظیسبل

This paper is a part of a survey. It applies structural equal modeling techniques to analyze factors that influence tourism destination loyalty. The approach was “Tourism as a customer.” The customer buys leisure services from the provider and the destination. One model More

This paper is a part of a survey. It applies structural equal modeling techniques to analyze factors that influence tourism destination loyalty. The approach was “Tourism as a customer.” The customer buys leisure services from the provider and the destination. One model in this approach is the European Customer Satisfaction Index. Based on this model, variables influencing the loyalty of tourists to the host community are not just the service provided by the host community. Rather, loyalty is correlated to the image of the destination, and the related expectations of that image. The statistical population was the families and parents of the martyrs in Mashhad. The sample included 400 cases selected by stratified sampling. Based on regression coefficients, perceived value and perceived quality were factors that influenced trip satisfaction. The final model of path analysis showed perceived value and perceived quality influenced trip satisfaction. Perceived quality impacted life satisfaction both directly and indirectly. We considered this perceived value as a mediate variable. Perceived quality leads to a positive evaluation of travel achievement, and it increases trip satisfaction. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

41 - Sociological Analysis of Factors Influencing Destination Loyalty
طیبر ظیسبل سميه عفتی

This paper is a part of a survey. It applies structural equal modeling techniques to analyze factors that influence tourism destination loyalty. The approach was “Tourism as a customer.” The customer buys leisure services from the provider and the destination. One model More

This paper is a part of a survey. It applies structural equal modeling techniques to analyze factors that influence tourism destination loyalty. The approach was “Tourism as a customer.” The customer buys leisure services from the provider and the destination. One model in this approach is the European Customer Satisfaction Index. Based on this model, variables influencing the loyalty of tourists to the host community are not just the service provided by the host community. Rather, loyalty is correlated to the image of the destination, and the related expectations of that image. The statistical population was the families and parents of the martyrs in Mashhad. The sample included 400 cases selected by stratified sampling. Based on regression coefficients, perceived value and perceived quality were factors that influenced trip satisfaction. The final model of path analysis showed perceived value and perceived quality influenced trip satisfaction. Perceived quality impacted life satisfaction both directly and indirectly. We considered this perceived value as a mediate variable. Perceived quality leads to a positive evaluation of travel achievement, and it increases trip satisfaction. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

42 - Investigating Stakeholder Perceptions on the Realization of Pro-Poor Tourism in Selected Villages in the Eastern Province of Semnan
Mohammad Reza Rezvani seyed ali badri Zabih-Allah Torabi

The poor have been the focus of attention in tourism development programs in developing countries. This has become a primary concern in tourism development programs so that the net revenues of tourism have been the reason for any tourism development initiative. The pres More

The poor have been the focus of attention in tourism development programs in developing countries. This has become a primary concern in tourism development programs so that the net revenues of tourism have been the reason for any tourism development initiative. The present qualitative study used content analysis to identify and explain perceptions of tourism stakeholders to reduce the poverty in the selected villages, i.e. Qaleh Bala, Abr and Reza Abad, in the east of Semnan. Because of their geographical isolation and traditional lifestyles, people in these villages suffered from poverty. In recent years, the government made efforts to reduce poverty through tourism development in these areas. The interviews with the five stakeholders showed that with government support, tourism reduced poverty in three ways: direct, indirect, and dynamic. The support had thus increased opportunities and skills for a large part of the rural poor and had also promoted relative cohesion, participation, and environmentally responsible behavior. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

43 - Determining the Most Suitable Ecosystem for Community-Based Ecotourism Development: case of Siyahoo rural district in Bandar
Ali Shahdadi

Sustainability in ecotourism requires comprehensive participation of the host community in ecotourism projects. Community-based ecotourism (CBET) is an approach in which the local community acts as the founder and promoter of ecotourism and it takes part in its developm More

Sustainability in ecotourism requires comprehensive participation of the host community in ecotourism projects. Community-based ecotourism (CBET) is an approach in which the local community acts as the founder and promoter of ecotourism and it takes part in its development. This paper tried to locate community-based ecotourism as a development model in Siyahoo rural district. The paper wanted to answer: where are the most suitable ecosystems in Siyahoo rural district for developing CBET according to economic, socio-cultural, institutional-physical and environmental indices. This is an applied and developmental research, which followed a descriptive method in data collection and analyzed them quantitatively. The statistical population included the local communities, tourists, experts and elites in the tourism sector. Data were collected from four tourist rural areas (Siayhoo, Kharsin, Banglayan, and Sikhoran) in the Siyahoo rural district using interviews and questionnaires by Purposive Quota-Sampling. Participants included 370 people from the local community, 359 tourists from the Siyahoo rural district and 15 experts and elites. SPSS 22 was used to analyze the data, and the SWOT technique to determine the CBET development strategies. The findings of the assessed elements (including economic, socio-cultural, institutional-physical and environmental indices) showed that Bangelayan village had the highest capability to develop community-based ecotourism in Siyahoo. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

44 - Identifying Institutional Factors Influencing the Exploitation of Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Health-Tourism in Iran: a qualitative study of Tehran province
Kamal Sakhdari nader seyedamiri Alireza Rajaian Javad Sakhdari

Despite many potentials in health tourism in Iran, few entrepreneurial behaviors tried to use them. The nexus theory of actor-opportunity suggests that entrepreneurial behaviors result from a suitable combination of actors and the supporting environment. Institutional f More

Despite many potentials in health tourism in Iran, few entrepreneurial behaviors tried to use them. The nexus theory of actor-opportunity suggests that entrepreneurial behaviors result from a suitable combination of actors and the supporting environment. Institutional factors are among the important elements of a supporting context for entrepreneurship. This qualitative research aimed to identify institutional factors that influenced the exploitation of health-tourism opportunities in Tehran province. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs and health tourism experts. Interviewees were selected using targeted and snowball methods. This study took place in Tehran, April to July 2015. We introduced four categories of institutional factors: regulatory, normative, cognitive and supportive. These categories form the essential factors for exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities in health tourism in Iran focusing on the capital city of Tehran. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

45 - A Model for Investigating the Effect of Online Word-of-Mouth Communications on Travel Intention for Tourism Destination
Mohammad ghaffari

Given the advancements in information and communication technologies, many tourists prefer to collect tourism destination information through electronic word-of-mouth communications. This paper aimed to present a model for investigating the effect of online word-of-mout More

Given the advancements in information and communication technologies, many tourists prefer to collect tourism destination information through electronic word-of-mouth communications. This paper aimed to present a model for investigating the effect of online word-of-mouth communications on travel intention. The statistical population of this study included inbound tourists who traveled to Tehran in September 2016. A sample of 200 tourists was selected conveniently. To collect data, a researcher-developed questionnaire (including 24 questions) was used. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were examined and confirmed. Findings showed that online word-of-mouth communications affected tourism destination image and that tourism destination image significantly affected both the trust in tourism destination and the intention to travel. The trust in tourism destination significantly affected the travel intention for the destination. Also, online word-of-mouth communications had significant effects on the trust in tourism destination and the travel intention directly and indirectly. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

46 - Investigating the Effect of Smart Tourism Technologies’ Select Factors on the Satisfaction of Using Technology in Travel: A Case Study of Yazd Visitors
Hashem Reisi amirreza konjkav monfared elahe hosseini

10.52547/journalitor.35654.10.20.21

Emerged out of recent advances and the development of information technology, smart tourism provides modern modes of communication, novel ways of collecting information, and new opportunities for value creation and management. Therefore, this study sought to investigate More

Emerged out of recent advances and the development of information technology, smart tourism provides modern modes of communication, novel ways of collecting information, and new opportunities for value creation and management. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the influence of the technologies used in smart tourism on tourists’ satisfaction with using technology in their travels. The study's statistical population comprised domestic tourists who visited Yazd city in Iran, out of whom 240 individuals were selected via convenient sampling. The required data were collected by administering the 16-item questionnaire proposed by Yoo et al. (2017) and Huang et al. (2017). Moreover, the questionnaire’s technical characteristics were examined in terms of validity (structure and content) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha) to secure the accuracy of the research results. The research hypotheses were also tested based on the partial least squares method using the structural equation modeling and Smart PLS 3 software. The study’s results indicated that all three hypotheses were confirmed, as their t-statistic value was over 1.96. Furthermore, it was found that the highest impact factor belonged to informing aspect of smart tourism technologies, suggesting that offering information, interaction, and accessibility had a significant positive effect on the satisfaction of using technology in travel. It can therefore be argued that satisfaction with the use of technology in travel generates profits for tourism companies, leading to the loyalty of tourists to a particular destination. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

47 - Ethnographic Study of the Tourists' Motivation for Recreational Trip to Mazandaran Province Through the Lens of Rite of Passage Theory
Zohreh Korani Fatemeh Sam

10.52547/journalitor.35691.11.21.227

Considering the relationship between tourists' motivations and the type of their trip, a clear and logical perception of the process could be of great significance. Therefore, this study sought to analyze the tourists’ motivations for traveling to the coastal cities of More

Considering the relationship between tourists' motivations and the type of their trip, a clear and logical perception of the process could be of great significance. Therefore, this study sought to analyze the tourists’ motivations for traveling to the coastal cities of Mazandaran province, taking a distinct anthropological perspective by highlighting the concepts of leisure trips. As ethnography is the main method used by anthropologists to discover the elements existing in a field, this study used a qualitative method with an emphasis on ethnography. Primary data were collected through participant observation and semi-structured in-depth interviews. To this end, 16 tourists who had visited the three coastal cities of Mahmoud Abad, Fereydoonknar, and Babolsar were selected via purposive sampling. The collected data were then analyzed using a three-stage coding system. In this regard, first, three categories, including "a place with a different structure", "in search of novel experiences", and "suspension" were identified. Finally, after performing the selective coding, the core category of "rites of passage" was extracted. According to the study’s results, it appears that the tourists who travel to the cities mentioned above for recreational purposes experience a mixed feeling of suspension and freedom from the requirements and responsibilities of daily life during the trip, which could be considered similar to the second phase of the theory of rites of passage. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

48 - Coastal and marine tourism scheme in the Coast of Ramsar (based on choice of tourists)
Hamid Amirnejad Mohammad

The profits of the coastal tourism industry are such that many people would invest in it. Considering the potential of the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, this study measured the views of tourists to improve the factors of the coastal industry. With a random sample More

The profits of the coastal tourism industry are such that many people would invest in it. Considering the potential of the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, this study measured the views of tourists to improve the factors of the coastal industry. With a random sample in the city of Ramsar, this study used a choice experiment model and advanced econometric regressions such as conditional Logit. The aim was to improve the utility of tourists and to suggest a functional model for the development of Ramsar coastal tourism by creating sustainable employment. To develop models, we conducted field interviews on Ramsar beaches in the spring and summer of 2018. The results showed that improving the sanitation facilities and the recreational facilities plus beach prospects had a positive impact on the ultimate utility of the tourists. The tourists would spend forty percent more if the current situation improved by fifty percent. To develop a desirable model for tourists, our recommendations to the investors were to improve: a) the beach and sea landscape 25 percent; b) the health and wellness facilities 50 percent; c) the recreational facilities 50 percent. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

49 - Effective Drivers on the Sustainable Development of Rural Tourism with an Emphasis on Futures Studies (Awraman district of Sarvabad city)
رسول صفیاری soran manoochehri

Sustainable development of tourism requires a future studies approach. Given the nature of sustainability and the complexity of the open tourism system and its impact from trends, events, and changes (known as drivers), such an approach can identify, understand, and ana More

Sustainable development of tourism requires a future studies approach. Given the nature of sustainability and the complexity of the open tourism system and its impact from trends, events, and changes (known as drivers), such an approach can identify, understand, and analyze the complexities and the operating drivers. This applied research with a descriptive-analytical method and a prospective exploratory approach identified the most important drivers that would affect the sustainable development of Awraman (Kurdistan, Iran) rural tourism. To identify the drivers, we used the Delphi technique and selected 38 experts. The MicMac software was used to find the relationships and their impacts and effectiveness. The results showed that the tourism system of the region would follow an unstable development. In such a situation, the aggregated drivers of economic, institutional, and environmental indicators would be more effective than social drivers. The most effective driver would be an inappropriate business environment, while a culture of self-employment and entrepreneurship would be the most influential driver in the sustainable development tourism for the region. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

50 - A Conceptual Model for the Cultural Tourism Sustainable Development: a meta-synthesis approach
Mohanna Nikbin hamid Reza Zargham Broujeni sayed reza salehi amiri kamran mohamadkhani farhad ghaffari

Tourism is a powerful means of cultural transactions among societies. UNWTO predicted the following two decades (to 2030) to be the tourism sustainable growth period. Cultural tourism development could preserve the cultural and natural assets of destinations, enhance th More

Tourism is a powerful means of cultural transactions among societies. UNWTO predicted the following two decades (to 2030) to be the tourism sustainable growth period. Cultural tourism development could preserve the cultural and natural assets of destinations, enhance the host communities’ quality of life, and delight the tourists. Following an interpretive approach and a systematic meta-synthesis technique, this paper systematically studied the scholarship in cultural tourism sustainable development. This study identified and categorized the extracted codes using a latent content analysis strategy. Based on the CASP criterion, the papers published in authentic Persian and English scientific databases by 2019 (Azar 1397) were selected. Maxqda 2018.1 was used to identify, group, analyze, and interpret the codes. One hundred four primary codes were grouped into 29 major and minor categories, and four main codes: i.e., dimensions, influential factors, impacts and challenges of cultural tourism sustainable development. We presented a conceptual model for cultural tourism sustainable development. Finally, by Cohen’s kappa index using SPSS, the validity of the results was measured 0.712, also verified by the experts excluding the authors. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

51 - Relational Disruptions in Host-Tourist Interactions and Its Social Predictors (A case study in Mashhad)
Arash Ghahreman Sareh Nematian

This study investigated the disruptions of social relations among the tourists and the host. The statistical population included 676 citizens and domestic tourists, each a group of 338. A sample method, proportionate with the volume, was used to select the tourists. Clu More

This study investigated the disruptions of social relations among the tourists and the host. The statistical population included 676 citizens and domestic tourists, each a group of 338. A sample method, proportionate with the volume, was used to select the tourists. Cluster sampling was used to select citizens. To explain the main variable, we used regression and path analysis. To study the model based on the relationship between predictive variables and research structures and to determine the share of the weight of its construct dimensions, the study used structural equation modeling. SEM was also used to test the model, which had some variables with different influences. The results showed that in tourist-host social relations, the maximum was the intensity dimension, 44.17 (100-0), and the minimum was the symmetry dimension, 35.37 (100-0). In host-tourist relations, the highest mean was the dimensional relationship, and the lowest was the density dimension. In tourist-host relations, the results showed that 58.8% were very disturbed, 23.4% were in average disorder, and 17.7% were in a low and a very low disability. In the host-tourist relations, 86.7% were very disturbed, 8.3% were in average disorder, and 5% were in a low and a very low disability. Based on the results, a comprehensive program needed to develop for social trust and to promote its strategies. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

52 - The Sociological Impacts of Tourism in the city of Shiraz: an exploratory mixed method
moslem bagheri payam shojaei samaneh asghari jahromi

Nowadays, tourism is a leading industry and plays a pivotal role in the economic, social, and environmental issues of many societies. This study considered the sociological impacts of tourism and provided a comprehensive model. The paper used an exploratory research met More

Nowadays, tourism is a leading industry and plays a pivotal role in the economic, social, and environmental issues of many societies. This study considered the sociological impacts of tourism and provided a comprehensive model. The paper used an exploratory research method. In the qualitative section, using meta-synthesis, we presented a model of psychological consequences with two concepts, six dimensions, and thirty-nine indicators. In the quantitative part, we determined the significance of the indicators of this model using the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) and a survey of experts in tourism sociology in Shiraz. The results showed that improving employment, cultural activities, and the social and cultural life of the local community were the most significant positive consequences. In contrast, fraud and extortion were the most negative sociological impacts of tourism in Shiraz. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

53 - The Effects of Interactional Experience of Tourists on Their Attitudes to the Host (case study: Mashhad)
hamed bakhshi Maryam Hashemian

Tourist-host relations are inevitable in the destination. The tourists expect to have a good experience in their interactions with the host. However, when they encounter unpleasant actions, they get contradictory attitudes towards the destination. This paper studied the More

Tourist-host relations are inevitable in the destination. The tourists expect to have a good experience in their interactions with the host. However, when they encounter unpleasant actions, they get contradictory attitudes towards the destination. This paper studied the effects of tourist-host interactional experience on tourists’ attitudes towards the local people. Four groups of service providers were selected: vehicle drivers, the staff of the Holy Shrine, resellers, and citizens of Mashhad. Data about the tourists’ experiences were extracted from open questions in the questionnaire. Participants’ qualitative experiences were then categorized and codified by thematic analysis in two categories of positive and negative experiences. After counting the thematic codes, attitudes of pilgrims and tourists were measured using a Likert scale. The results showed that the average score of tourists’ attitudes towards the people of Mashhad was 3.33 (1-5), which showed a neutral attitude to the hosts. Among the demographic characteristics, only age and education had significant relations with the pilgrims’ attitude. Age had a positive relation, while education had a negative relation. Besides, interactional experiences influenced the pilgrims’ and tourists’ attitudes. When they had pleasant and positive experiences with the hosts, their attitudes increased positively, while their negative and unpleasant experiences with the host, led to their negative attitudes. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

54 - The Effect of Information Quality of Word of Mouth in Online Social Networks on Tourist Behavior
narjes deyrgandom Mohammad najjarzadeh Seyed Abbas Ebrahimi

Social networks have changed users’ lifestyles over a short period. People use online social networks. Communications between individuals go beyond the circles of friends and family members and involve communicating with strangers. Social networks have thus provided the More

Social networks have changed users’ lifestyles over a short period. People use online social networks. Communications between individuals go beyond the circles of friends and family members and involve communicating with strangers. Social networks have thus provided the marketers with the brand new, yet unlimited opportunities, including online word-of-mouth marketing. This study investigated the effect of information quality of online word of mouth on the tourist behavior. We received 332 questionnaires from domestic tourists who had the experience of using an online word of mouth. Valid questionnaires were 310. The data were analyzed by structural equations and the partial least squares method. The results showed that online word of mouth, information quality, and source credibility had a positive and significant impact on tourist behavior. Also, online word of mouth and information quality had a positive and significant effect on source credibility. Few studies had so far investigated source credibility and quality of information. The results confirmed the direct and significant impact of the two variables on tourist behavior. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

55 - Effective Factors in Management Strategies for Sustainable Branding in Coastal Destinations (Case Study: Chabahar Coastal Zone)
seyed saeed hashemi abdolreza roknedin eftekhari

Given the critical importance of branding, tourism destinations seek to attract broader support in social, environmental, and managerial dimensions and set their management methods. To accomplish such goals and to establish an optimal management approach, one needs to i More

Given the critical importance of branding, tourism destinations seek to attract broader support in social, environmental, and managerial dimensions and set their management methods. To accomplish such goals and to establish an optimal management approach, one needs to identify the influential factors. This paper aimed to establish a sustainable branding management strategy for coastal tourism destinations by identifying influential factors. The resource-based theory was used besides the METASWOT technique to establish a sustainable branding management strategy in Chabahar coastal zone. This mixed descriptive-analytical study was conducted on a statistical population of 84 experts and tourists. It used tested indices of a sustainable brand. The resource-based approach in sustainable branding included a set of assets and abilities that were available and useful in identifying threats and opportunities while reacting to them. This set was considered based on the “valuability,” “scarcity,” “non-imitability,” “non-replaceability of resources,” and “internal capabilities.” Besides, Chabahar coastal zone was compared to Oman, Kish, and Qeshm to identify the competitive dimensions. Given the tendency of local people and government towards economic development in Chabahar and the results from other qualitative and quantitative studies, it can be suggested that Chabahar coastal zone had the capacities required for collaborative and community-centered management. Based on the results, the optimal management strategy for this zone was resource-based, collaborative, and community-centered. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

56 - The Effect of E-tourism on the Purchase of Tourism Services and its Conformity with the Behavior of Iranian Tourists
Reza Minaee Farshid Namamian Fakhrodin Maroofi Alireza Moradi

Tourism will soon become the largest service industry in the world with the help of IT. Social networking platforms, which have become prevalent via mobile data, are valuable tools that contribute to the information and telecommunication technology (ICT). These platform More

Tourism will soon become the largest service industry in the world with the help of IT. Social networking platforms, which have become prevalent via mobile data, are valuable tools that contribute to the information and telecommunication technology (ICT). These platforms, which provide interactions and exchanges of various contents among the users, have developed new lifestyles and behavioral models among the tourists. Marketers must enjoy the online social networks and e-tourism to increase their competitiveness, market share, and the generated profit by providing the tourists with some services tailored to their demands. Upon reviewing 100 relevant qualitative and quantitative studies, we used an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach to present a model with five primary themes, in order of priority: a major environment, managerial factors, individual factors, group factors, and marketing factors. Through these factors, social networks affected tourists’ behaviors. The model was then tested on Iranian tourists’ behaviors using qualitative and quantitative statistical methods. Results could be used by virtually all marketers and activists in the tourism industry. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

57 - Comparing the Attitude Patterns of Men and Women in Planning and Developing Clean and Inexpensive Coastal Cycling Tourism (Case Study of Babolsar)
Mehdi Ramezanzadeh Lasbuie فرشته دوستی

In traditional societies, gender roles are not notable, whereas gender relations play a significant role in planning and developing tourism. Gender relations give identity to people and set their power and participation in environmental and socio-cultural affairs. All t More

In traditional societies, gender roles are not notable, whereas gender relations play a significant role in planning and developing tourism. Gender relations give identity to people and set their power and participation in environmental and socio-cultural affairs. All types of tourism, including cycling tourism, play roles in distributing power, resources, participation, and support among the members of society, particularly women and youths. Babolsar city has a coastline of 27 km, which makes it the lengthiest swimming beach in Mazandaran province, visited by various tourists. Should the standards improve, the city’s coastline could attract bicycle tourists and even hold cycling races on a national level. This study compared the attitude patterns of men and women to develop cycling tourism. It also discussed the motivational factors affecting women. Two hundred questionnaires were randomly distributed among tourists on the beaches of Babolsar city. Data were analyzed by T-test and linear regression in SPSS. The results showed that women, similar to men, had a high tendency to use bicycles in a suitable environment. They also asked to establish standard infrastructures to improve their skills. Among the motivational factors in women’s views, the pro-cycling attitudes and perceived cycling ease had the highest impact on developing cycling tourism in Babolsar. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

58 - The Effect of Self and Social Congruity on Tourists’ Satisfaction, Experience and WOM in Kish
Mohesn Akbari Sayed Hassan Ale Taha Mohammad Hataminejad

Since tourism services cannot be evaluated before the visit, it is essential to note the word-of-mouth communication in attracting tourists. The sensitivity of the tourism industry and the significance of tourists’ behaviors urge decision-makers to pay more attention to More

Since tourism services cannot be evaluated before the visit, it is essential to note the word-of-mouth communication in attracting tourists. The sensitivity of the tourism industry and the significance of tourists’ behaviors urge decision-makers to pay more attention to how social congruity with the brand image can create a positive image of a region. This paper studied the effect of self and ideal self-congruence on the experience and satisfaction of tourists in Kish. It also investigated the impact of tourists’ experience and satisfaction on their word-of-mouth communications. As a descriptive survey, the statistical population was the tourists in Kish, who visited the place during the summer and fall of 1397. With a sample size of 388 tourists, a questionnaire was used to collect the data. Both validity and reliability were confirmed. Structural equation modeling and partial least squares technique (Smart-PLS 2) were used to analyze the data. Findings showed that when the real and ideal self of tourists were congruent with the real and ideal image of the destination, it led to their satisfaction. Also, the experience and satisfaction of tourists would lead to word-of-mouth communications among tourists. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

59 - Assessing Users’ Recreational Demand in Urban Parks in Tehran with the Help of the Artificial Neural Network

The advantages of public green spaces are clear. However, it is hard to estimate which parks provide higher standards for users’ (both tourists and citizens) recreational demands. This study provided a model to assess recreational demands in urban parks with the help of More

The advantages of public green spaces are clear. However, it is hard to estimate which parks provide higher standards for users’ (both tourists and citizens) recreational demands. This study provided a model to assess recreational demands in urban parks with the help of the artificial neural network. The aim was to clarify the rules of satisfaction among the users’ recreational demands in urban parks. In 22 districts of the city of Tehran, 104 local urban parks (with a high diversity of the quality of welfare services and design) were selected. Using the user-centered viewpoint, we assessed the recreational demand. A field study from 1395 to 1396 helped to investigate the role of the urban district and park service variables in increasing the demand for urban parks. Results of trained networks showed that the artificial neural network created the best function of topology optimization with a higher coefficient of determination in three categorists of training, validation, and test data. Sensitivity analysis showed that the number of urban district parks, sports areas, cultural areas, and the quality of landscape with a sensitivity coefficient of 183.5, 58.1, 52.7, and 30.4, respectively, had the highest effect on the users’ recreational demand in urban parks. The suggested model would be a decision support system in designing urban parks. Such an approach would help improve urban development based on tourism attractions and would develop urban tourism on a broader scale. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

60 - The situation of ecotourism demand Gilan province with an emphasis on social and economic factors
mehdi hesam hasan oroji mahdi cheraghi

Ecotourism has attracted much attention in recent years. A critical issue in ecotourism is to understand the state of demands. Demand is typically measured in terms of the tourism market. The tourism market is linked to the region of tourism products, and the characteri More

Ecotourism has attracted much attention in recent years. A critical issue in ecotourism is to understand the state of demands. Demand is typically measured in terms of the tourism market. The tourism market is linked to the region of tourism products, and the characteristics and preferences of their representatives. Noting ecotourism, this study analyzed the demand situation of ecotourism in Gilan province. The statistical population of all tourists entering Gilan province was 384 individuals. Wilcoxon, Binomial, and T-test were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the role of geo-touristic attractions such as coasts and forest areas was essential for the present and future travel of tourists to Gilan. However, the goal of many tourists to these attractions was mere fun. Thus, they suggested little ecotourism motives. The services of the indigenous people and lodging in indigenous resorts did not have high effects on the travel of tourists and did not create much incentive for them. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

61 - A model for developing disabled tourism in the city of Yazd
Mir Mohhammad Asadi Mehdi Bassouli Yasamin Boroumandzad

Traveling always brings with itself a sense of rejuvenation, hope, and abandonment from daily activities. Most experts recommend traveling to the elderly, the disabled, and the veterans. The main issue for disabled people is their being ignored in the Iranian tourism ne More

Traveling always brings with itself a sense of rejuvenation, hope, and abandonment from daily activities. Most experts recommend traveling to the elderly, the disabled, and the veterans. The main issue for disabled people is their being ignored in the Iranian tourism network. Many urban and public spaces lack the proper facilities and are hard to use. People with disabilities have less or limited opportunities to enjoy tourism activities. Disabled tourism needs particular attention since Yazd was named a World Heritage by UNESCO. This research designed a model of the factors that influenced developing disabled tourism in Yazd. Reviewing the literature, we identified 15 essential factors, which were revised and modified into 13 after interviews with some experts. Using cognitive mapping technique and interpretive structural modeling, we designed a model for essential factors. The results showed that the most critical factors in developing disabled tourism included the role of the government in promoting such tourism, a customized transportation system for the disabled, and security. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

62 - The willingness of tourists to pay for services in rural tourism destinations
Hamdollah Sojasi Qeidari حمیده محمودی Atefe jomeei

Tourism-baed development would only takes place if local communities are provided with the revenues earned from visiting tourists who are willingly pay for tourism services offered. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the willingness of toursits visiting the vi More

Tourism-baed development would only takes place if local communities are provided with the revenues earned from visiting tourists who are willingly pay for tourism services offered. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the willingness of toursits visiting the villages of Shandiz city in Binalood town to pay for tourism services offered there. Being a descriptive-analytic research, the study used conditional evaluation method and logit model to measure the pay willingness rate. Vikor model was also employed to identify the spatial differences among the tourists in terms of their willingness to pay for the services they received. The population of the study comprised of eleven villages which were visited throughout 2018 by 96 visitors who were selected as the participants of the study according to Cochran formula with 0.1 error rate. The results of the stusy indicate that tourists tends to spend an average of 776540 Rials (equal to 6 USD) in the villages they visit. Taking the the total willingness of the visiting tourists to pay for the services for a full day into account, commercial facilities, catering, recreation, and residential facilities were the most willingly paid services respectively. Moreover, based on the Vikor model, tourists spend more money in Virani village as more services are offered there in terms of restaurant, catering, and residential facilities. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

63 - Investigating the Scenarios of non-Muslim non-Iranian Tourists of Mashhad Within 2025 Perspective
Arash Ghahreman Ahmad roumiani Sareh Nematian zahra bostan

10.61186/journalitor.35761.11.23.105

The uncertainty caused by environmental complexities has made it difficult to forecast the future of Tourism in Mashhad in terms of non-Muslim tourists visiting the city, about whom no sufficient information exists. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the trend More

The uncertainty caused by environmental complexities has made it difficult to forecast the future of Tourism in Mashhad in terms of non-Muslim tourists visiting the city, about whom no sufficient information exists. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the trend of variations in the visits made to Mashhad by non-Muslim tourists using the scenario writing method. To this end, this applied study used the analytical-qualitative approach, collecting the required data through detailed in-person interviews. In this regard, twenty-seven interviews were made in three phases with tourism experts in such fields as sociology, economics, planning, and specialized tourism services. In the first phase, the factors involved in attracting non-Muslim tourists to Mashhad were identified according to the views offered by the experts in interviews using the Delphi technique. In the second phase, the critical driving forces were identified based on two criteria of effectiveness and uncertainty. Finally, the optimistic and pessimistic scenarios concerning the future of non-Muslim tourism in Mashhad were described. The study’s findings revealed that smartizing tourism, making connections between tourism in Mashhad and its neighboring cities, increasing the number of media advertisements, improving the hospitality culture, and promoting a sense of security in the visiting tourists were the most important driving forces at the local level. Therefore, the number of Mashhad’s non-muslim tourists could be increased within the study period by improving IT infrastructure (including electronic trading, and electronic banking), introducing neighboring cities and villages of Mashhad and their tourist attractions, offering instructions regarding hospitality (especially for taxi drivers, business and shop owners), creating tourism police, and providing security in high-trafficking urban places. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

64 - Assessing Social Entrepreneurship Criteria in Rural Tourism Development: A Case Study of Gilan Province, Iran
Hamed Fallah Tafti Fatemeh Doozandehziabary Asghar Nabil

10.52547/journalitor.35766.11.22.309

In today’s world, finding practical solutions to deal with rural developments is required for the survival of the villages. On the other hand, many countries consider tourism as the economic driving force, setting as the main strategy in developing appropriate plans for More

In today’s world, finding practical solutions to deal with rural developments is required for the survival of the villages. On the other hand, many countries consider tourism as the economic driving force, setting as the main strategy in developing appropriate plans for rural development. To this end, social entrepreneurship and tourism are given specific priority, the promotion of which could prepare the grounds for the development and progress of rural areas. Therefore, considering the fact that social entrepreneurship criteria are of great importance in rural tourism development and that few studies have so far been conducted on the assessment of the effectiveness of such criteria in fulfilling the development goals, this study sought to investigate social entrepreneurship criteria in rural tourism development in Gilan province, Iran. To this end, first, the criteria for social entrepreneurship in tourism were identified by reviewing the related literature. Then, a researcher-developed questionnaire was administered to thirty-five entrepreneurs, experts, and professionals in the field of tourism with at least five years of working experience who were selected via snowball sampling to identify the significance of each criterion with regard to the other ones. Finally, the investigated criteria were ranked using Interpretive structural modeling (ISM). According to the findings of the study, nine levels were identified for the ranking of the investigated criteria, with the ninth level, that is belief in entrepreneurship and the creative use of resources, being the most influential social entrepreneurship criteria involved in rural tourism development in Gilan province. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

65 - Exploring Employer Branding in Job Ads: A Case Study of Tourism and Hotel Industry
Ali Abedini hamid zare

Taking the increasing growth of the Iranian tourism industry and the mounting competition between various active tourism companies to recruit talented workforce into consideration, the conduct of studies on employer branding from the perspective of potential employees o More

Taking the increasing growth of the Iranian tourism industry and the mounting competition between various active tourism companies to recruit talented workforce into consideration, the conduct of studies on employer branding from the perspective of potential employees of such companies could be useful in employing top talents. In this regard, it could be argued that Job advertisements are the first contact zones where the job hunters may cross into, and that at this critical stage, employer branding could play a significant role in recruiting talents before other competitors do so, providing the companies with a sustained competitive advantage. The population of this applied-qualitative study comprised of all Iranian companies acting in tourism industry. As for collecting the required data, 177 relevant tourism job advertisements released in 12 different job hunting websites in autumn 2018 were identified and recorded. Then the content of the ads were coded via quantitative content analysis method and the frequency of each code was computed. The findings of the study indicated that work missions, company’s location, flextime, working hours, holidays, teleworking facilities, co-worker quality, work challenges, international mobility, company size, reputation of the company’s product or service, basic salary and bonuses, and welfare facilities were the items which normally appear in job advertisements published by tourism companies. Job seekers, therefore, mentally examine the messages they receive from various organizations and select the organization that best suits them. Tourism companies, thus, need to feature as much dimensions of their brands as possible in their job advertisements and internet-based recruitments so that they manage to recruit top talents. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

66 - Exploring the Relationship between the Culture of Cooperation and the Creative Performance of Tourism Hoteling Organizations Staff
majid sarani ali akbar amin bedokhti sakineh jafari

In today’s competitive world, the key to success of tourism and hoteling organizations lies in their provision of creative products and services with regard to the different needs of their customers. As the staff’s creativity could provide organizations with some compet More

In today’s competitive world, the key to success of tourism and hoteling organizations lies in their provision of creative products and services with regard to the different needs of their customers. As the staff’s creativity could provide organizations with some competitive advantages, they need to try more to increase their employees’ creativity so that they may enjoy such advantages. This applied descriptive-correlative study, therefore, set out to investigate the relationship between the culture of cooperation and the creative performance of those staff members working in tourism organizations and two, three and four-star hotels in Yazd, Iran. To this end, a population of 172 supervisors and employees from all two, three and four-star hotels of Yazd city were selected through stratified random sampling. Having administered the standard questionnaires on culture of cooperation, working environment, and creative performance, the collected data were analyzed through the path analysis model, using LISREL software. The findings of the study indicated a significant positive and direct correlation between the culture of cooperation and the employees’ creative performance, while the culture had no such effect on the creativity of the staff when enforced through the procedural justice as an intervening variable. It was also found that there was a significant indirect relationship between the culture and the employees’ creative performance when the sharing of knowledge acted as a mediator, and that the cooperative culture had an indirect effect on employees’ creativity with the motivation acting as a mediator. Moreover, the culture of cooperation proved to have a significant indirect influence on the employees’ creative performance with the promotion factor acting as an intervening variable. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

67 - Key Success Factors of Crowdsourcing in in Developing Tourism Destination Capabilities: A Case Study of Yazd City
Hamed Fallah Tafti Mahdieh Zahmatkesh Saredorahi بهاره گورنگی

Today, information technology has made it possible to solicit the views of different people with diverse perspectives and ideological backgrounds. Being one of the benefits of IT, crowdsourcing could, as an easy-to-use public opinion survey tool, be used as a very usefu More

Today, information technology has made it possible to solicit the views of different people with diverse perspectives and ideological backgrounds. Being one of the benefits of IT, crowdsourcing could, as an easy-to-use public opinion survey tool, be used as a very useful instrument wherever social participation may facilitates the identification and resolution of problems. Having carefully reviewed previous studies of the field, we found that few attempts have so far been made to induce tourists to socially participate in identifying the opportunities for the development of civilian, cultural, and social infrastructures of tourist destinations. As one of the Iranian cultural and historical tourist destinations, Yazd city has recently been enlisted in UNESCO World Heritage sites and has attracted the attention of many tourists worldwide. Having said that, it appears that its tourism capacities and infrastructures need to be developed. This study, therefore, sought to identify the criteria which could be effective in the success of tourist crowdsourcing in offering appropriate solutions for the development of tourism in Yazd. To this end, the primary criteria for the successful implementation of crowdsourcing were extracted from the relevant literature, from which 25 criteria in six general categories were screened and identified via Delphi method. To rank the criteria mentioned, the opinions of Yazd tourism experts were collected through paired comparisons, being analyzed and ranked by fuzzy network analysis. The finding of the study indicated that human resources and cultural indices with the weights of 0.28 and 0.21 respectively were the most important factors in the success of tourist crowdsourcing. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

68 - Investigating the Role of Iranian National Culture on Creating Images of Iran’s Tourist Destinations: A Case Study of Gilan Province
mohamadreza taghizadeh joorshari Narges Delafrooz mamoud shabgu monsef saeed baghersalimi

This study set out to investigate the effect of familiarity with a country’s culture on the images created in the minds of the foreign tourists visiting there, and the improvement of the public images made of smaller geographical units of that country such as its provic More

This study set out to investigate the effect of familiarity with a country’s culture on the images created in the minds of the foreign tourists visiting there, and the improvement of the public images made of smaller geographical units of that country such as its provices as well. To this end, Gilan province was selected as the population of the study to research on. To collect the required data for testing the three hypotheses defined for this study, a 24-item questionnaire was administered on some 218 foreign tourists who visited different cities of Gilan province. The hypotheses and relationship between the research variables were analyzed through PLS software, using structural equation modeling techniques. The findings of the study suggested that familiarity with Iranian culture could improve Iran’s image and that of the Gilan province in the mind of a foreign tourist. Moreover, the impact of the Iran’s image on Gilan’s image was confirmed. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

69 - Exploring the Greatest Tourism Problems in Isfahan
Mehri Shahzeidi Sahar Movahedi Nafise Bagheri

Urban tourism is one of the most prevalent and lucrative types of tourism. Enjoying great cultural and historical potentials, Isfahan could be regarded as one of main destinations for urban tourism in Iran. However, while its development in terms of tourism has been def More

Urban tourism is one of the most prevalent and lucrative types of tourism. Enjoying great cultural and historical potentials, Isfahan could be regarded as one of main destinations for urban tourism in Iran. However, while its development in terms of tourism has been defined in some legally binding documents such as "Isfahan’s 1404 Development Strategic Document" and "Isfahan Province Development Document", it has failed to be developed ideally in that regard. This study, therefore, set out to identify the most significant problems hindering the development of tourism in Isfahan. The data of this qualitative research were collected via 26 semi-structured interviews whose size was determined based on saturation effect. The participants of the study were selected through purposive sampling from among the elites, officials, and the practitioners of the tourism industry. Analyzing the data through thematic analysis, one core problem and three axial problems were identified for the Isfahan’s tourism industry. The core problem was, according to the findings, that tourism did not have priority at the macro level, and the axial problems included “inefficient management and lack of well-defined plans”, “abstinence from investment”, and “inadequate human resources”. It was also found that conflicting ideas were the dominant problem in defining the main issues in tourism. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

70 - E-tourism Business Model
Fatemeh Yavarigohar payam hanafizadeh taraneh hajiahmadi farmahini

This study sought to develop a social media-based business model for tourism industry. At the first stage, the main elements of the model were extracted from the related literature review and the Osterwalder and Pigneur’s business model framework. At the second stage, t More

This study sought to develop a social media-based business model for tourism industry. At the first stage, the main elements of the model were extracted from the related literature review and the Osterwalder and Pigneur’s business model framework. At the second stage, to evaluate and prioritize the identified elements, a questionnaire was developed and administered on 119 experts who were selected through snowball sampling. The collected data were then analyzed, using Smart PLS software and the elements were imbedded in the model in order of their importance. Applying multiple case study method, the business model of seven tourism companies who managed to successfully employ the potentials of social media to their benefit were analyzed in the final stage to validate the business model proposed by this study. The findings indicated that active presence in social media would affect the customer-related elements more than those of the supplier-related ones. In other words, the elements related to the relationship with customers, cost structure, value proposition, and distribution channels would be affected more than the elements related to revenue streams, key resources, key activities, and key partnerships. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

71 - Exploring Citizens View on Fast Food and Effective Factors in its Development: A Case Study of Isfahan Citizens
atiyeh Aliakbari masoud taghvaei

Having dramatically grown worldwide over the past few decades, tourism has increasingly added to the diversity of its fields. As a subset of tourism, food tourism which includes fast foods as one of its major components has attracted the attention of planners and policy More

Having dramatically grown worldwide over the past few decades, tourism has increasingly added to the diversity of its fields. As a subset of tourism, food tourism which includes fast foods as one of its major components has attracted the attention of planners and policymakers in different countries due to its functions and benefits. The required data for this applied descriptive-analytical research were collected from administering questionnaires on 384 people who were selected based on Cochran's formula. The collected data were then analyzed in SPSS software Version 22, using factor analysis, Friedman test, Chi-square, and Pearson correlation. With 13.78% of the variance reported by the factor analysis, culture was identified as the most influential factor. Moreover, Friedman test showed that the most important dimension was the physical one according to mean rank values. The results of the χ2 test indicated a lack of social satisfaction of citizens with fast foods in Isfahan. Pearson's test also found a moderate correlation between luxuriousness and increased damage to local traditions of Isfahan. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

72 - Network Analysis of Organizational Cooperation in Tourism Destination Management
Asghar Tahmasebi mehri zavarniya

Organizational cooperation is regarded as a key factor in the sustainability and competitiveness of tourist destinations. This study sought to investigate the organizational cooperation network and the position of different actors and organizations within the management More

Organizational cooperation is regarded as a key factor in the sustainability and competitiveness of tourist destinations. This study sought to investigate the organizational cooperation network and the position of different actors and organizations within the management of Mashhad tourist destinations, using Social Network Analysis. To this end, the data on the organizational interactions of 30 actors involved were collected through surveying and interviewing three key experts in each relevant organization. The data were then analyzed via Ucinet software, using the in-degree, out-degree, and betweenness centrality indicators. The findings of the study indicated that the governmental organizations such as the provincial governments, gubernatorial offices, and the Law Enforcement Forces mostly exercised control and power on Mashhad tourist destinations’ organizational cooperation network. Moreover, with the highest amount of betweenness centrality, the gubernatorial offices, and the Office of Tourism and Cultural Heritage enjoyed the greatest potentials for cooperation within the organizational cooperation network. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

73 - Assessing the Elasticity of Health Tourism Demand from Middle Eastern Countries
hamid asayesh mahdi kamali hadi rahmani fazli

10.52547/journalitor.35928.11.21.145

Comprising medical and health (prevention) types of tourism, health tourism is of great importance for Iran, considering the country’s potential medical capabilities (the presence of qualified practicing physicians and extensive medical and treatment facilities) and app More

Comprising medical and health (prevention) types of tourism, health tourism is of great importance for Iran, considering the country’s potential medical capabilities (the presence of qualified practicing physicians and extensive medical and treatment facilities) and appropriate natural health resources (such as hot springs, salt domes, salt lakes, and Mud therapy facilities). Moreover, the capacity of health tourism in terms of foreign exchange earnings is more than three times than that of ordinary international tourism. However, despite its great capacities, Iran has a modest share of the health tourism market, the increase in which requires the assessment of the elasticity of health tourism demand from the Middle East in terms of the relevant effective factors. Therefore, this study sought to find answers to the following basic questions: 1- What are the factors affecting the demand for health tourism? 2- What is the elasticity of the demand for health tourism in terms of such factors? To this end, this study assessed the demand for health tourism using the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) and the simultaneous equation Model. Moreover, a questionnaire was administered to 182 tourists coming from the Persian Gulf countries to express their opinion regarding health tourism and estimate the elasticity of health tourism demands in terms of relevant effective factors. The results of the AIDS estimations revealed that the price elasticity of health tourism demand was greater than one, while the price elasticity of other products and accommodation services was less than one. Moreover, it was found that the elasticity of health tourists' demand from Iran belonged to significant variables such as the tourist’s income level, visa validity, expenses, exchange rate variations, and the inflation rate. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

74 - Developing a Cultural-Indices-based Model of Health Tourism in Iran
samaneh barkhordari

10.52547/journalitor.35931.11.21.257

The globalization of health means patients travel to other countries to receive medical treatment. Nowadays, healthcare is a global phenomenon. On the other hand, the establishment of multi-national hospitals, the competitive costs of healthcare worldwide, the internati More

The globalization of health means patients travel to other countries to receive medical treatment. Nowadays, healthcare is a global phenomenon. On the other hand, the establishment of multi-national hospitals, the competitive costs of healthcare worldwide, the internationalization of standards, and the fact that different countries are getting closer to each other in terms of specialized technologies are some indications of the globalization of healthcare. This applied exploratory study sought to develop a model for health tourism based on cultural indices in Iran using a mixed method. Accordingly, the required data were collected via semi-structured interviews and questionnaires at qualitative and quantitative phases, respectively. The statistical population of the study comprised of senior officials involved in health tourism policy making, professionals of Iran’s health tourism industry, and professors and faculty members in management who specialized in tourism and cultural studies, out of whom 100 participants were selected using Cochran’s formula. Finally, after multiple reviewing of the codes and combining them in several phases, some sixty-six sub-codes were identified, out of which eleven key factors were identified to be included in the intended cultural-indices-based model for health tourism in Iran. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

75 - The Impact of Inbound Tourism Development on the Income Distribution among Households and Institutions (A Structural Path Analysis Approach)
Mohammadreza Farzin Niloofar Abbaspoor Yekta Ashrafi Hamid Zargham Boroojeni

Income generation potential of Tourism is a feature that has attracted the support of policymakers and host communities. The injection of inbound tourists’ expenditures to the destinations increases the income of households and institutions. Using the social accounting More

Income generation potential of Tourism is a feature that has attracted the support of policymakers and host communities. The injection of inbound tourists’ expenditures to the destinations increases the income of households and institutions. Using the social accounting matrix of 2011, this paper evaluates the impact of the development of inbound tourism sector on the income of the households and institutions, as well as its distribution. The social accounting matrix has been altered so that it can incorporate tourism sector as one single sector next to other sectors in the production account. Moreover, the channels through which this development affects the income of households and institutions have been identified adopting structural path analysis approach. The findings show that institutions, urban households and rural households enjoy the most income increase, respectively. The four-fold share of the urban households compared to that of the rurals indicates an increase in the income gap as a result of inbound tourism development. Transportation sector has the greatest share in transferring the income-generating effects of the inbound tourism development to the households and institutions. Labor and capital are the most important factors of production in transferring inbound tourism development income to the households and institutions respectively. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

76 - A marketing model for Iranian rural tourism
سمیرا اله‌یاری Abolfazl Tajzadehnamin Ali Badizadeh akbar pourfaraj

The main purpose of this study was to develop the model of rural tourism for Iranian organizations. The philosophy of the research is Interpretivism, the approach is deductive, and the strategy is the case study. In this research, by using multiple case study method and More

The main purpose of this study was to develop the model of rural tourism for Iranian organizations. The philosophy of the research is Interpretivism, the approach is deductive, and the strategy is the case study. In this research, by using multiple case study method and pluralistic approach, three companies of Tourism in Iran have been chosen and studied. Finally, interviews were conducted with 7 managers and elites. In each company, the current process of Rural tourism marketing and recommendatory Marketing model, by using different methods like semi-structured interviews, observation, and document analysis have been explored and have been defined. Then the suggested concepts of the interviews were analyzed and finally, the proposed model was drawn after comparing with the theoretical basis of the research and final analysis of the data obtained from the interviews. The results indicate that the Marketing model of rural tourism in Iran Includes four dimensions of environmental analysis(General and specialized environment), marketing planning(Mission, environmental intelligence, market-entry, more and Building Brand), operational planning(marketing mix and networking), and outcomes. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

77 - The Impact of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Indicators on Foreign Tourism Demand in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Fatemeh Rahmani Ali Rahnama

Today, the role of the tourism industry has been accepted as a category in creating fields of interaction between the countries of the world. Tourism in developed and developing countries is one of the basic approaches in creating sustainable employment, increasing per More

Today, the role of the tourism industry has been accepted as a category in creating fields of interaction between the countries of the world. Tourism in developed and developing countries is one of the basic approaches in creating sustainable employment, increasing per capita income, and diversifying sources of income. Various indicators affect the development of this industry and the number of tourists attracted by countries. Due to the importance of this issue, this study examines the effect of travel and tourism competitiveness indicators on foreign tourism demand in the Middle East and North Africa. The panel data model was used to measure the impact of these indicators for 15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for the years 2011-2019, whose information is available in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report. According to the results of this study, the three variables "air transport infrastructure", "labor market and human resources" and "price competitiveness" had the highest impact on attracting foreign tourists to the surveyed countries. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

78 - The Impact of Destination Image and Satisfaction on Heritage Tourists’ Loyalty: resenting a Conceptual Model (Case Study: World Collection of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardabili)
Habib Shahbazi Shiran Roya Esmi

The restoration, preservation, and prosperity of historical monuments in Iran are directly related to the presence of heritage tourists. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of destination image and satisfaction on heritage loyalty within a conc More

The restoration, preservation, and prosperity of historical monuments in Iran are directly related to the presence of heritage tourists. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of destination image and satisfaction on heritage loyalty within a conceptual model based on the visitors of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardabili collection in Ardabil, Iran. The research method was descriptive-survey and the sample size was determined to be 375 people by using available sampling method and Cochran formula (unspecified population size). Data were analyzed using the SPSS and AMOS softwares. Results showed that most respondents had relatively high satisfaction with their visit to the collection. According to the results of structural equations analysis, the most effective variables related to loyalty, destination image and tourist satisfaction were the variables of tourists' revisit of the collection, awareness and interest and tourism costs, respectively. The destination image also has a significant effect on satisfaction; But effect of destination image on the heritage tourists’ loyalty is mediated by the mediating variable of satisfaction. Therefore, the focus of heritage tourism marketing programs on improving the destination image among heritage tourists would not necessarily lead to an increase in tourists' revisit from the collection. But, attention to satisfaction variable, especially reducing tourism costs and increasing the security feeling, can have more effect on tourists’ loyalty. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

79 - Investigating the Quality of Subjective Perception of Tourists of the Artistic lements of Monuments in a Mixed- Methods Case Study: Hamedan City
Tooran Ahmadi

One of the important factors in shaping the quality of tourists' mental perception of the monument is the quantity and quality of architectural elements, both tangible and intangible elements, which the tourist judges in his mind after visiting. This study aimed to inve More

One of the important factors in shaping the quality of tourists' mental perception of the monument is the quantity and quality of architectural elements, both tangible and intangible elements, which the tourist judges in his mind after visiting. This study aimed to investigate the role of architectural elements of historical monuments in Hamadan in shaping the quality of tourists' mental perception. The research method is mixed (qualitative than quantitative). The results of qualitative research findings showed that tourists, depending on their characteristics, receive different meanings from seeing a historical monument. Also, the results showed that the variables of patterns, inscriptions, plastering, and tiling have the highest frequency among tourist interviews and have a great impact on creating mental quality. In the quantitative findings section, the results of regression test showed that the variables of designs and inscriptions are R2 = 0.841, historical history of the building = R2 = 0.542, plastering and tiling = R2 = 0.509, date of construction = R2 = 0.489, respectively. Entrances and windows = R2 = 0.403, materials, brickwork and structure shape = R2 = 0.388, landscape = R2 = 0.369 and structural proportions = R2 = 0.610 have a significant relationship with the quality of mental perception. The results of one-way analysis of variance showed that the role of architectural elements in the quality of tourists 'mental perception by age, gender, level of education and previous tourist experience in visiting the monument in all eight dimensions of factors affecting the quality of tourists' mental perception at 000 / 0 was significant. Among these, the literacy level variable with the value of F = 12.478 had the highest expectation from the three groups. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

80 - Identifying and Analyzing the Driving Forces Involved in Developing Tourism Industry in Kondoleh Village, Sahneh City
mitra jaliliyan Mohammad Akbarpour Jafar Tavakoli

10.52547/journalitor.35983.10.20.131

Abstract Tourism is regarded as an inflectional factor in developing the communications between nations worldwide in today’s world, providing job opportunities in the economic sector and fostering socio-cultural interactions. On the other hand, rural tourism has widely More

Abstract Tourism is regarded as an inflectional factor in developing the communications between nations worldwide in today’s world, providing job opportunities in the economic sector and fostering socio-cultural interactions. On the other hand, rural tourism has widely been researched by a wide variety of scholars around the world, as it can help create new jobs, increase the residents’ revenues, and mitigate poverty, especially in villages that enjoy cultural attractions. Therefore, this sought to investigate the key factors and influential driving forces involved in developing tourism in Kandoleh village using the Delphi method and the future study approach. This study is considered applied in terms of purpose, carried out based on new methods followed in the future study, and novel exploratory and analyzing techniques using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods. In this regard, the key indices were identified via Delphi method, and the critical driving forces were detected based on the cross-impact analysis method using the Mick Mac software. The study’s results suggested that out of the twenty-eight key factors identified, efficient management and designation of Kandoleh village as the pilot site for rural tourism were the most influential elements in developing tourism within the village, followed by factors such as increased investments by the private sector, advertising, registering and preserving historical and cultural monuments, and providing security for tourists, respectively. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

81 - Tourism Policymaking, Local Community Support, Place Image, Tourism Impacts, Tourism in Semnan
Zohre Kiani FeizAbadi Farnaz NikKhah Elisa taherian

10.61186/journalitor.35991.11.24.219

Tourism policies widely affect the lives of local residents. On the other hand, the effectiveness of such policies depends on the local community’s support and participation. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the influence of the Local Community’s Place More

Tourism policies widely affect the lives of local residents. On the other hand, the effectiveness of such policies depends on the local community’s support and participation. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the influence of the Local Community’s Place Image and their perception of tourism impacts on their support for tourism policies in Semnan. To this end, some 340 questionnaires were distributed among local residents, out of which 322 questionnaires were completed by the respondents. The collected data were then analyzed by PLS software using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicated that the residents’ place image had a direct significant effect on their perception of tourism impacts and consequently on their support for tourism development policies. Moreover, the findings highlighted the necessity of evaluating tourism impacts based on the perceptions of residents, because the more favorable they consider the tourism impacts, the more support they give to tourism development policies. Finally, this study suggests some policy recommendations on how to manage the local community’s place image, their perceptions of tourism impacts, and their support for tourism policy-making. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

82 - Identification of Tourism Marketing Factors via Metasynthesis
aziz arfai Farshid Namamian

10.52547/journalitor.35996.10.20.211

Abstract As the most widespread service industry in the world, tourism has managed to take center stage among many managers and researchers. Hence, pinpointing the factors of tourism marketing and offering optimal solutions towards facilitation of tourist absorption a More

Abstract As the most widespread service industry in the world, tourism has managed to take center stage among many managers and researchers. Hence, pinpointing the factors of tourism marketing and offering optimal solutions towards facilitation of tourist absorption are of prime significance. Not to mention, since only few factors of tourism marketing have been addressed in previous studies, the present research aimed to identify the tourism marketing factors via metasynthesis. In this exploratory applied research, the entire studies on tourism marketing, conducted over 2000-2020, were taken into consideration. To this end, 580 studies were assessed, of which 87 were finally selected purposefully. Finally, through content analysis and combining the relevant literature using open, pivotal and selective coding methods, 78 codes, 21 concepts and six categories were selected and analyzed, whose validity were supported by Cohen’s Kappa Coefficient.The results demonstrated that the key categories were as follows: integrated marketing (incentive promotional mixes), satisfaction, relationship marketing, internal marketing, electronic marketing, and ICT factors. Further, a deep understanding of the existing literature on tourism marketing is presented by the present study. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

83 - Bibliometric Analysis, Tourism Experience, Computational Literature Review, Co-occurrence Network, Co-authorship Network
leila ilchi mesbah seivandian amir salar vanaki

10.61186/journalitor.36036.11.24.139

This study set out to investigate the trend of studies conducted on tourist experience using bibliometric analysis. To this end, the study analyzed 2683 articles published in the Web of Science database from 1980 to 2020 using the VOS Viewer software to visualize and an More

This study set out to investigate the trend of studies conducted on tourist experience using bibliometric analysis. To this end, the study analyzed 2683 articles published in the Web of Science database from 1980 to 2020 using the VOS Viewer software to visualize and analyze the results. In this regard, two analysis levels were considered. At the first level, the publication trend and the impact factor of authors, journals, and articles were examined. At the second level, the structure of the co-occurrence network of keywords and the co-authorship network of authors, institutions, and countries were analyzed. The findings of the study indicated a significantly growing trend of studies (most of which were published in 2019) conducted on tourism experience in recent years, which is expected to continue to grow in the future. On the other hand, hospitality and leisure, management, and environmental studies were found as the highly researched areas, with most articles being published on tourism experience. Moreover, social media, trust, user opinions, and competitiveness are among the emerging research areas in the relevant literature. In this regard, health tourism, culinary tourism, social experience, shared value creation, authenticity, cultural experience, destination experience, backpackers, information technology, cultural differences, cultural heritage, students’ experiences, sustainable management, and transportation are among the main topics addressed in the literature. On the other hand, the analysis of the authors' co-authorship network revealed that thirty-five research groups are currently working in this field worldwide, with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University exerting the highest influence on the international collaboration network. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

84 - An Analysis of Effective Factors in the Formation of Rural Tourism Brand in Kerman
Aliakbar Anabestani Marziyeh Pourjopari Ali Khodadadi

10.52547/journalitor.36040.9.17.0

The mental image of target places is the most important factor that helps tourists determine their tourism destination, the lack of which may result in limited visits by tourists. Thus, paying attention to the formation of tourism brand is of great importance. Among dif More

The mental image of target places is the most important factor that helps tourists determine their tourism destination, the lack of which may result in limited visits by tourists. Thus, paying attention to the formation of tourism brand is of great importance. Among different cities of Kerman Province, Kerman city is impoverished in terms of infrastructure, facilities, and tourism services. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influential factors (environmental, social, and economic) in the formation of the tourism brand in rural areas of Kerman city. The required data were collected through document analysis and questionnaires. To this end, the main and complementary factors were set within the framework of two questionnaires concerning the host community (52 persons) and a paired comparison with experts (24 persons). Fuzzy and MABAC hierarchical models were also used to weigh the main factors and rank the villages. The study found that the environmental factor had the highest weight with a coefficient of 0.676, and economic and social factors had the lowest weight with a coefficient of 0.213 and 0.111, respectively, indicating that enough attention has no been paid to economic and social factors in the field of tourism branding. This study's findings could help resolve the major weaknesses found in the city and reinforce its strengths concerning the tourism brand. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

85 - Investigating the Moderating Role of Cultural Homogeneity in the Relationship between Internal Marketing and Employee Satisfaction among Tourism staff in Iraq, Turkey, and Western Iran,
Fakhrodin Maroofi Seyed Farhad Hosseini

10.52547/journalitor.36041.9.17.0

The role of internal marketing in employee satisfaction has been empirically investigated in more than 200 researches so far. However, few studies have addressed the role of employees in cultural backgrounds. Taking this literature gap into consideration, this descripti More

The role of internal marketing in employee satisfaction has been empirically investigated in more than 200 researches so far. However, few studies have addressed the role of employees in cultural backgrounds. Taking this literature gap into consideration, this descriptive survey study sought to survey the moderating effect of cultural homogeneity on the relationship between internal marketing and employee satisfaction in the workplace. The study's statistical population comprised the Iranian, Iraqi, Turkish, and Kurdish tourism employees, out of which 338 staff were selected via the available sampling method. The required data were collected through library research and questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the collected data. The results of the study indicated that there was a positive correlation between internal marketing and employee satisfaction (0.53). Moreover, the study's practical and theoretical findings confirmed that cultural homogeneity could further enhance internal marketing and employee satisfaction (0.678). Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

86 - Tourism, Tourism development# Religious development#Systematic approach#Interpretive structural modeling (ISM)
Hamid Zargham Boroojeni marjan abdi Seyed Mojtaba Mahmoudzadeh hossein aslipour

10.52547/journalitor.36042.9.17.0

Religious tourism plays an important role in Iranian cultural and economic sustainability. Due to the special nature of the Iranian political establishment, this type of tourism provides many potentials for tourism development in different parts of Iran. Making the best More

Religious tourism plays an important role in Iranian cultural and economic sustainability. Due to the special nature of the Iranian political establishment, this type of tourism provides many potentials for tourism development in different parts of Iran. Making the best use of these capacities requires recognition of the barriers and challenges lying ahead of the development of religious tourism. Therefore, this study set out to identify the challenges facing religious tourism, using thematic analysis (TA) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Moreover, the relationship model between the influential factors involved in this regard was extracted at three levels via the thematic network. Finally, MICMAC analysis was conducted to measure the influence power and dependence of the factors. The required data were collected through library research and administering a questionnaire on 15 experts familiar with the subject matter who were selected through purposive sampling, out of whom 11 experts completed the questionnaire. The findings of the study indicated that variables such as lack of attention to the chain of providing religious tourism services, lack of programming, policymaking, and monitoring the religious tourism process, and not allocating budget and financial supports for religious tourism development in Iran played essential and key roles in the non-development of this type of tourism. These variables were placed at the third level of the model that affect the second level variables. It was also found that the variables such as inefficient management of religious tourism facilities and services, inefficient management of religious attractions and events, and improper management of religious tourism marketing were dependent variables that were placed at the first level of the model. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

87 - Investigating the Pattern of Behavioral Factors in Accessible Tourism Development for People with Physical Disabilities: A Case Study of Tehran City
mehdi karoubi Mahmood Ziaee Nazanin Fekrizad

10.52547/journalitor.36045.9.17.0

Participating in tourism activities is the undeniable right of all society members, including people with disabilities. However, sometimes factors related to people with disabilities or inappropriate social environment for acceptance of these people as community members More

Participating in tourism activities is the undeniable right of all society members, including people with disabilities. However, sometimes factors related to people with disabilities or inappropriate social environment for acceptance of these people as community members prevent them from participating in tourism activities. In this regard, this study sought to identify such factors (under the title of behavioral factors) and investigate their role in the development of accessible tourism for people with physical disabilities, using a mixed-methods approach in two stages of qualitative (identifying the behavioral indicators and factors through interviews with experts in the field of tourism and disability) and quantitative (designing a questionnaire based on the indicators obtained from the qualitative stage and distributing them among tourists with disabilities in Tehran). The first stage was conducted using the content analysis method and Maxqda2018 software. The partial least squares method and SmartPLS3 software were used at the second stage. The results of the study indicated that the two main categories of behavioral factors, i.e., "Personal factors" (personal characteristics of people with disabilities and their perception of interaction with the environment) and "interpersonal factors" (public responsibility towards people with disability, community education, the dependency of people with disability on another person's assistant along with the development of positive feelings in these people) affected the development of accessible tourism for people with physical disabilities. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

88 - Investigating the Effective Factors on the Architectural Management of Alborz Tourism Destinations
Shamsodin Nikmanesh shabnam zarjou meysam Agheli maryam pour kasmaei

10.52547/journalitor.36046.9.17.0

Tourism destinations are very significant in today's competitive market. Moreover, brand management and development have become increasingly important in the tourism industry, with most of the active companies in this field are trying to attract more tourists by creatin More

Tourism destinations are very significant in today's competitive market. Moreover, brand management and development have become increasingly important in the tourism industry, with most of the active companies in this field are trying to attract more tourists by creating a positive and favorable image of tourist destinations in tourists' minds through branding and brand architecture. This descriptive-survey study, therefore, set out to identify the influential factors in the management of the brand architecture of Alborz province's tourist destinations. The study's statistical population comprised of all experts and marketing managers of Alborz Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, out of which 200 participants were selected as the sample size using Cochran's formula. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire. AMOS software was used to analyze the collected data. The study's findings showed that the status of brand architecture management in Alborz province was moderate. It was also found that other aspects of brand architecture, i.e., having a long-term vision, filling the gap between supply and demand, prioritizing customer segmentation, having a moderate status, and having an efficient tourism strategy, were poor. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

89 - Taxonomy of Tourists Based on Accommodation Types in Mashhad
Arash Ghahreman Ahmadreza AsgharpourMasouleh omid Ali kharzmi Mohsen Noghani Dokht Bahmani hosein Akbari

10.52547/journalitor.36047.9.17.0

This survey study's main goal was to present a taxonomy of tourists visiting Mashhad according to their accommodation type. The required data were collected by administering a researcher-developed questionnaire on domestic tourists who visited Mashhad in the winter of 2 More

This survey study's main goal was to present a taxonomy of tourists visiting Mashhad according to their accommodation type. The required data were collected by administering a researcher-developed questionnaire on domestic tourists who visited Mashhad in the winter of 2019. The accommodation centers' typology was done based on qualitative typology and taxonomy. The former was done based on cost and grade criteria, and the latter was carried out by ''two stages clustering analysis ''. The study's findings indicated that most of Mashhad tourists (97%) were considered loyal visitors who had visited there frequently. Measured in terms of individualistic-collective criterion, the visitors' travel style was found to be collective (81%). On the other hand, based on the Institutional-Independent criterion, the visitors' travel style was Independent (68%). Taking the ethnographic factors and the characteristics of the visitors' travel into account, three types of tourists were identified as follows: ''non-individual less frequent visitors'' (37%), '' short-stay costly visitors" ' (36%), and '' frequent frugal visitors'' (26%). The first group accommodated in guesthouses, rental houses, and low-grade hotels and hotel-apartments. The second group accommodated in high-grade hotels, hotel-apartments, and guesthouses; the third group accommodated in their relative's houses or personal homes. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

90 - Designing a model for intrapreneurship development in Sports Recreation Complexes
Taghi Ashouri hamidreza ghezelsefloo meysam asgarshamsi

10.52547/journalitor.36048.9.17.0

· ##اسکوئیان، سنجر و حسینی گوهری، مریم. (1391). «بررسی عوامل درون‌سازمانی مؤثر بر کارآفرینی سازمانی». کنفرانس ملی کارآفرینی و مدیریت کسب‌و‌کارهای دانش‌بنیان. بابلسر. آبان ماه.##اسمعیلی، محمد. (1397). «تبیین رابطه حمایت سازمانی ادراک شده و رفتار شهروندی سازمانی». More

· ##اسکوئیان، سنجر و حسینی گوهری، مریم. (1391). «بررسی عوامل درون‌سازمانی مؤثر بر کارآفرینی سازمانی». کنفرانس ملی کارآفرینی و مدیریت کسب‌و‌کارهای دانش‌بنیان. بابلسر. آبان ماه.##اسمعیلی، محمد. (1397). «تبیین رابطه حمایت سازمانی ادراک شده و رفتار شهروندی سازمانی». مجله نخبگان علوم و مهندسی. 3 (1). 1-12.##اندام، رضا؛ منتظری، امیر و فیضی، سمیرا. (1393). «بررسی ابعاد کیفیت خدمات در گردشگری ورزشی». مطالعات مدیریت ورزشی. (26). 36-15.##ایمانی‌پور، نرگس و زیودار، مهدی. (1387). «بررسی رابطه‌ی گرایش به کارآفرینی شرکتی و عملکرد». توسعه کارآفرینی. 1 (2). 11-34.##آصفی، احمدعلی؛ خبیری، محمد؛ اسدی دستجردی، حسن و گودرزی، محمود. (1393). «بررسی عوامل سازمانی مؤثر در نهادینه کردن ورزش همگانی در ایران». پژوهش‌نامه مدیریت ورزشی و رفتار حرکتی. 10 (20). 63-76. ##بالوندی، علی حیدر و زردشتیان، شیرین. (1398). «اثر شیوه‌های مدیریت استراتژیک منابع انسانی بر عملکرد سازمانی با نقش میانجی نوآوری سازمانی در کارشناسان وزارت ورزش و جوانان». مدیریت منابع انسانی در ورزش. 6 (2). 221-239.##پورسلطانی زرندی، حسین و ایرجی نقندر، رامین. (1391). «ارتباط درک حمایت سازمانی با تعهد سازمانی و رضایت شغلی کارکنان اداره‌‌ی کل ورزش‌ و جوانان استان مازندران در سال 1390». مجله مدیریت و رفتار سازمانی در ورزش. 1 (1). 2322-3103.##جابری، اکبر؛ سلیمی، مهدی و خزائی پول، جواد. (1392). «بررسی تأثير انگیزش‌های درونی و بیرونی بر تسهیم دانش کارکنان در سازمان‌های ورزشی (مطالعه‌ی موردی کارمندان ادارات تربیت بدنی استان اصفهان)». مدیریت ورزشی. (14). 55-75.##داوری، علی و رضازاده، آرش. (1393). «مدل سازی معادلات ساختاری با نرم افزار PLS». سازمان انتشارات جهاد دانشگاهی. چاپ دوم. تهران.##زهره وندیان، کریم و ابراهیمی، فرشته. (1392). «ارائه مدل پیشنهادی برای مکان گزینی اماکن ورزشی با استفاده از تلفیق سیستم اطلاعات جغرافیایی ( (GISو روشهای تصمیمگیری چندمعیاره (MCDM)». مطالعات مدیریت ورزشی. (21). 111-126. ##علیمردانی، محمد؛ فراهانی، ابوالفضل و قاسمی، سیدحمید. (1394). «ارتباط بین فرهنگ سازمانی با کارآفرینی سازمانی در اداره کل ورزش ‌و ‌جوانان استان قم». پژوهش‌های کاربردی در مدیریت ورزشی. 4 (1) شماره 13 پیاپی: 25-34.##غلامرضا تبار دیوکلائی، زهرا؛ فرزادفر، رامین و تورانی، نجمه. (1391). «مثلث تعامل مدیریت تکنولوژی، مدیریت دانش و مدیریت نوآوری». کنفرانس ملی کارآفرینی و مدیریت کسب و کارهای دانش بنیان. دانشگاه مازندران، مازندران.##فراهانی، حسین و منوچهری، سوران. (1394). «شناسایی موانع و مشکلات توسعه گردشگری در مناطق روستایی هدف گردشگری شرق مریوان». پژوهش و برنامهریزی روستایی. 4 (1). 174-161.##قربانی قهفرخی، لیلا؛ کلانی نسب، مرضیه؛ یاراحمدی، معصومه و فتحی، فریبرز. (1397). نقش ساختار سازمانی در بهکارگیری مدیریت مشارکتی در اداره کل ورزش و جوانان استان هرمزگان. فصلنامه علمی - پژوهشی مطالعات مدیریت رفتار سازمانی در ورزش5 .(1). 45-54.##کیاکجوری، داود و فاضلی ویسری، الهام. (1389). «شناسایی موانع داخلی، محیطی و برآیندی کارافرینی سازمانی مطالعه موردی: اداره کل بنادر و کشتیرانی استان مازندران- بندر نوشهر». فصلنامه پژوهشگر (مدیریت). 7 (20). 94-108.##لشکربلوکی، م. (1390). جاری سازی راهبرد (راهنمای گام به گام پیاده سازی در عمل). تهران .انتشارات آریانا قلم.##محبی‌فر، رفعت؛ بخشیان، محمود و رفیعی، سیما. (1395). «تأثير پاداش سازمانی بر عملکرد کارکنان با نقش میانجی انگیزش در بیمارستان‌های اموزشی شهر قزوین». فصلنامه علمی پژوهش‌های سلامت محور. 2 (3). 223-232.##محمودی، احمد؛ کارگر، غلامعلی؛ متقی شهری، محمدحسن و اسلامی، ایوب. (1393). «بررسی نقش چابکی سازمانی در آمادگی برای تغییر در کارکنان اداره کل ورزش و جوانان استان البرز». پژوهشهای معاصر در مدیریت ورزشی. 4 (8). 15-28. ##مددی، حمید. (1392). «بررسی رابطه سرمایه اجتماعی با کارآفرینی درون‌سازمانی». فصلنامه مدیریت توسعه و تحول. 14. 39-49. ##موسوی‌راد، سیده‌طاهره و فراهانی، ابوالفضل. (1393). «طراحی و تدوین مدل کارآفرینی ورزشی مبتنی بر رابطه منابع کارآفرینی سازمانی با خروجیهای کارآفرینی سازمانی در وزارت ورزش و جوانان». رویکردهای نوین در مدیریت ورزشی. (4) 2. 77-85.##نوربخش، مهوش؛ محرم زاده، مهرداد و نجف زاده، فرخ لقا. (1390). «بررسی مهمترین عوامل جذبکننده و بازدارنده مؤثر بر توسعه گردشگری ورزشی بانوان استان آذربایجان غربی با تأكيد بر جاذبههای طبیعی- ورزشی». دومین همایش ملی تخصصی مدیریت ورزشی، دانشگاه صنعتی شاهرود.##وفایی، فاطمه و مقیمی، سید محمد. (1389). «ارتباط کارآمدی سامانه الکترونیکی فرآیندهای اداری و کارآفرینی درون‌سازمانی دانشگاه تهران» . فصلنامه اقتصاد و تجارت نوین. شماره 21 و 22. 99-122.##هنرور، افشار؛ قنبری فیروزآبادی، علیرضا و خطیبزاده، مهدی. (1392). «ویژگیهای جمعیتشناختی و اولویتهای گردشگران ورزشی در ایران». فصلنامه پژوهش در مدیریت ورزشی، دانشگاه علامه طباطبایی. 2 (5). 1-24.##Alam, Muhammad Zubair; Kousar, Shazia & Kaleem, Muhammad Ali. (2020). Personality traits and intrapreneurial behavior Moderated role of knowledge sharing behavior in diverse group of employees in developing country. Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 14 (1), 31-46. ##Aminuddin Yusof, Mohd Sofian Omar-Fauzee, Parilah Mohd Shah, Soh Kim Geok. (2009). Exploring Small-Scale Sport Event Tourism in Malaysia. Research Journal of Internatıonal Studıes , 9, 47-58.##Beugelsdijk S. .(2008). Strategic human resource practices and product innovation. Organization Stydies, 29 (06), 821–847.##Bouckenooghe, D. Devos, G. & Van Den Broeck, H. (2009). Organizational Changequestionnaire-Climate of Change, Processes and Readiness: Development of A Newinstrument. Journal of Psychology,143 (6), 559–599.##Buckens, Wim. (2014). Fostering Intrapreneurhip: The Challenge for a New Game Leadership. Economics and Finance,16, 580-586.##Churchill, N.C. 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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences ,195, 1166 – 1175.##Weiner, B, J., Amick, H. & Lee, S. D. (2008). Review conceptualization and Measurement of Organizational Readiness for Change: A Review of the Literature in Health service Research and other fields. Medical care Research and Review, 65 (4), 379-436. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

91 - Investigating the Effect of other Tourists' Misbehavior on Overall Tourist Experience: A Case study of Mashhad restaurants
Mohammad Sadegh Iranfar Hadi Rafiei Darani

10.52547/journalitor.36050.9.17.0

This study sought to investigate how by-standing tourists evaluate other tourists' misbehavior in a shared service environment and how this evaluation may influence a tourist's overall experience. The required data were obtained through conducting interviews and adminis More

This study sought to investigate how by-standing tourists evaluate other tourists' misbehavior in a shared service environment and how this evaluation may influence a tourist's overall experience. The required data were obtained through conducting interviews and administering a questionnaire on 411 tourists who visited Mashhad in 2019. Hypothesis testing was performed by structural equation modeling. This study revealed that tourists went through an evaluative process of primary and secondary appraisals that ended in active or passive coping behaviors. It was also found that perceived powerlessness, perceived betrayal, and perceived identity threat were the main cognitive factors in this process. Perceived betrayal exerted a significant effect on passive coping strategies, making the tourists unwilling to solve the problem with the service provider, and thus the customer-to-business relationship was terminated silently. Perceived identity threat positively affected switching intentions. On the other hand, perceived powerlessness discouraged tourists from seeking an immediate solution, while negative emotions led to immediate coping. Tourists' negative emotions were also found to have negatively influenced their evaluation of the overall experience. Therefore, it could be argued that service providers should pay attention to the importance of tourist-to-tourist interaction (TTI) management and take its impact on the overall tourist experience seriously. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

92 - Identifying Systematic Risk Factors in Companies Active in Iranian Medical Tourism Industry[1]
Saeid Amirian Ali Mohammad Ahmadi Abbas Assari Arani Ezatollah Abbasian

10.52547/journalitor.36051.9.17.0

Today, medical tourism is considered a valuable industry for many countries' economies that have the potentials to receive patients. However, demand fluctuations have devastating effects on the medical tourism industry and put active companies at risk of bankruptcy. Sys More

Today, medical tourism is considered a valuable industry for many countries' economies that have the potentials to receive patients. However, demand fluctuations have devastating effects on the medical tourism industry and put active companies at risk of bankruptcy. Systematic risks are among the factors involved in demand fluctuations, and companies' readiness to resist them is regarded as an important point in risk management. In cases where the companies are not ready in this regard, potential financial problems and widespread bankruptcy could bring about severe social consequences. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to measure systematic risks in companies actively involved in attracting medical tourists and to estimate the factors affecting such risks. To this end, the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) was used. In this method, the beta coefficient ( Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

93 - Investigating the Effect of Tourists Visits on Social Health of Host Communities: A Case Study of Select Tourism villages of Binalood city
tahereh Sadeghloo mitra yarahmadi

10.52547/journalitor.36052.9.17.0

), which is a statistical measure and gives investors a clue concerning volatility, is calculated to determine the extent to which companies are exposed to systematic risk. However, the asymmetry of information between the internal and external environment of small and More

), which is a statistical measure and gives investors a clue concerning volatility, is calculated to determine the extent to which companies are exposed to systematic risk. However, the asymmetry of information between the internal and external environment of small and medium-sized companies makes such studies more complex. According to the panel-data model results, the size of companies and the amount of their advertising have an adverse effect on systematic risk. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

94 - Identifying and Prioritizing Different Aspects of Tourist's Experience Quality from Viewpoints of Foreign Tourists Traveled to Shiraz
mahdi farmani Mohammad ghaffari Navid Shafiei mostafa zandinasab

10.52547/journalitor.36053.9.17.0

Nowadays, tourist experience and tourist destination choice are the main focal points in the tourism industry and tourism-related subjects addressed at universities. As modern tourists are value-oriented, tourist destinations could only be successful if they create valu More

Nowadays, tourist experience and tourist destination choice are the main focal points in the tourism industry and tourism-related subjects addressed at universities. As modern tourists are value-oriented, tourist destinations could only be successful if they create value for their visitors. Moreover, the Quality of tourists' experiences is a key competitive advantage for tourist destinations. This descriptive-survey study, therefore, sought to identify and prioritize different aspects of tourist experience quality from the viewpoint of tourists visiting Shiraz. The statistical population of this study comprised of those foreign tourists who visited Shiraz in April and May of 2019 and stayed at the Grand Hotel of Shiraz. To collect the required data, a questionnaire was administered on 400 visitors who were selected via convenience sampling. The questionnaire's construct validity was measured and approved by experts, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's Alpha. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to identify different aspects of tourist experience quality and validate the identified aspects, respectively, using SPSS and LISREL software. Moreover, to prioritize the aspects, the Shannon Entropy method was implemented in EXCEL software. The study's findings indicated that tourist experience quality consisted of ten aspects. It was also found that perceived interactive experience ranked first in that list from the respondents' standpoint. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

95 - Semantic reconstruction of the phenomenon of collective Nature-Based tourism among the people of Ilam City
Ali Feizolahi yarmohammad ghassemi farhad sabzifard

10.52547/journalitor.36056.11.22.49

This qualitative study sought to identify the causes and effects of the phenomenon of collective nature-based tourism among the people living in Ilam City using the grounded theory method. The population of the study comprised all residents of Ilam City in 2019, among w More

This qualitative study sought to identify the causes and effects of the phenomenon of collective nature-based tourism among the people living in Ilam City using the grounded theory method. The population of the study comprised all residents of Ilam City in 2019, among whom twenty-four people were selected through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. The required data were collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews, which were then analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. In the open coding stage, 928 semantic propositions and 157 basic concepts were identified, which were then categorized into 27 axial categories in the axial coding stage. Finally, the core category was identified based on the content analysis of the axial categories identified in the previous stage. The findings of the study indicated the effective role of causal conditions, curiosity, psychological reinvigoration, nostalgia, and conspicuous consumption on the spread of collective nature-based tourism. Moreover, it was found that contextual conditions, including environmental and climatic conditions, economic status, family background, holidays, and spatial belonging on the one hand, and intervening conditions such as the lack of leisure facilities in the city, and temporal and gender limitations on the other hand, were also involved in such a phenomenon. On the other hand, the findings revealed that the people living in Ilam opted for health-oriented, taste-oriented, culture-oriented, and destructive interactions and strategies while trying to improve social relations. In general, the core category of "collective nature-based tourism as a manifestation of opportunities and threats" was extracted from the content analysis of axial codes, indicating that this kind of tourism creates opportunities for individuals to improve their mental and emotional well-being and social life and strengthen their solidarity. However, it can bring about some threats to nature, including its destruction which may be caused by dumping waste, deforestation, and hunting. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

96 - Developing an Innovative Business Model for Tourism Industry with an Emphasis on Creating Value in Tourist Destination: A Case Study of Mashhad City, Iran
hossein ghadami hadi bastam Ali Hosseinzadeh

10.61186/journalitor.36058.11.23.233

As one of the most important industries worldwide, the tourism industry has led to the rapid growth of economic development, preparing the grounds for the development of new businesses, which has proved very effective in expanding job opportunities for different walks o More

As one of the most important industries worldwide, the tourism industry has led to the rapid growth of economic development, preparing the grounds for the development of new businesses, which has proved very effective in expanding job opportunities for different walks of life. Therefore, this exploratory study sought to develop an innovative business model for the tourism industry with an emphasis on creating value in the destination using a grounded theory method. The required data were collected through library studies and semi-structured interviews. To this end, open and in-depth interviews were made with 16 experts until the theoretical saturation was reached. The participants comprised experts of the tourism industry, university professors, hotel managers, guides of travel agencies and tours, heads, and officials of tourism industry departments, and tourists, who were selected via purposive sampling. The collected data were thematically analyzed according to open, axial, and selective coding. Finally, the conceptual model of the study was developed based on the Strauss and Corbin model, indicating that the core principle underlying the development of diverse advantage-oriented businesses is derived from casual conditions and influenced by contextual factors. It was also found that the core principle could be identified based on some strategies. Moreover, the intervening factors were extracted from the textual data collected from the interviewees by identifying the categories that indicate environmental conditions. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

97 - Anthropology of Tourism, Creative Space, Creative Tourism, Social Communication
mehdi karoubi razieh Rabani Javad Yousefi

10.52547/journalitor.36060.11.22.1

This study sought to identify and describe social communication methods used in terms of cultural signification by tourists and the host community in Chaharbagh Avenue, Isfahan, Iran. To this end, a qualitative approach was adopted, using the meaning coordination manage More

This study sought to identify and describe social communication methods used in terms of cultural signification by tourists and the host community in Chaharbagh Avenue, Isfahan, Iran. To this end, a qualitative approach was adopted, using the meaning coordination management model as the theoretical framework. The population of the study comprised the residents of Isfahan City, among whom thirty people were selected through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. The required data were collected via participatory observation and semi-structured interviews, which were then analyzed through content analysis, and open and axial coding. The study’s findings indicated that while the majority of Isfahani people expressed a positive attitude concerning the presence of tourists and establishing communication with them in Chaharbagh Avenue, poor creative hardware and software infrastructure in street communication, lack of coordination among policymakers, planners, and operational units in establishing effective communication and failing to consider creativity in redefining the third generation tourism products have prevented the avenue to gain a desired position in terms of tourism success. However, it could generally be argued that the residents of Isfahan City (as the host community) had a favorable attitude towards making effective communications with tourists in Chaharbagh Avenue. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

98 - Factors affecting investment in tourism sample regions of Tehran province (Case study of sample tourism regions of Shemiranat city)
hamid Reza Zargham Broujeni Mahmood Ziaee saeid anbarestani

10.61186/journalitor.36064.11.24.109

Tourism regions are among the most important resources for the development of the tourism industry. The status of Tehran province’s tourism regions shows that while twenty-nine tourism regions have been designated in the province, none of them are operationalized. There More

Tourism regions are among the most important resources for the development of the tourism industry. The status of Tehran province’s tourism regions shows that while twenty-nine tourism regions have been designated in the province, none of them are operationalized. Therefore, considering the significance of investment in such regions, this study sought to identify the factors involved in promoting and/or hindering investments in tourism regions of the province (those located in Shemiranat city). To this end, the required data for this applied survey study were collected via a questionnaire. According to the results of the study, the factors mentioned above could be divided into four categories: “policy and regulations”, “preparatory studies”, “financial support”, and “knowledge promotion and capacity building”. In this regard, the highest mean among the inhibiting factors belonged to the disharmony between executive bodies, lack of regulations regarding the time required for the issuance of relevant permits by the competent authorities and organizations, the risk of inflation, and lack of well-trained managers and employees. As for the success factors, the highest mean was related to factors such as submitting the management of tourism regions to qualified people, the necessity of conducting comprehensive risk studies before deciding to hand over the project, creating support and development funds to provide sustainable resources for granting loans and facilities and fostering cooperation between the local community and investors. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

99 - Review of Ecotourism Businesses Based on the Local Economy and Knowledge for Gaining Lessons
Maryam Mohammadi Helia Zargarimarandi

10.61186/journalitor.36086.12.25.1

Making purposeful use of the natural environment, ecotourism plays a crucial role in empowering local communities, whose economy could be improved through the application of local knowledge. Therefore, this study sought to identify the formal-functional criteria affecti More

Making purposeful use of the natural environment, ecotourism plays a crucial role in empowering local communities, whose economy could be improved through the application of local knowledge. Therefore, this study sought to identify the formal-functional criteria affecting the success of internet-based ecotourism businesses, and the content criteria regarding the local knowledge and economy. Moreover, the study undertook to elaborate on the effective criteria involved in the success of the relevant businesses in Iran. To do so, first, the intended criteria were developed by reviewing the related literature and performing content analysis. Then, the criteria involved in the success or failure of some select Iranian internet-based ecotourism businesses (15 businesses out of the final 44 businesses qualified to be studied in this research, which had been selected and filtered out of 91 businesses in 2019) were identified via expert-oriented quantitative evaluation. Finally, 120 online questionnaires were administered to target groups (Ecotourists and tour guides). The collected data were then analyzed via the SPSS software using Gamma and Contingency Coefficient correlation tests, followed by the validation of the criteria involved in the success of the Iranian internet-based ecotourism businesses. As indicated by the results of the study, providing local guides, organizing tours in untouched regions, and providing the opportunity for tourists to participate in ritual ceremonies were found as the main criteria involved in the success of Internet-based businesses in terms of local knowledge. Moreover, the local-economy-based criteria included the creation of job opportunities by providing a variety of tourism activities and services, providing accommodation, food, services, food, car rental services, etc. On the other hand, offering financial and cultural-educational support through holding free educational courses together with other formal-functional aspects of the platform may also contribute to the success of the aforementioned businesses. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

100 - Developing a Dynamic Model for Predicting Responsible Travel Intentions Based on the Complexities of Maslow's Needs Pyramid
mahnaz Doosti-Irani Hamed Fallah Tafti

10.52547/journalitor.36089.10.20.47

This applied qualitative study sought to classify the factors involved in responsible travel intentions based on Maslow's needs pyramid and elaborate on the causal relationships between the factors so that it can offer a more effective model for marketing sustainable to More

This applied qualitative study sought to classify the factors involved in responsible travel intentions based on Maslow's needs pyramid and elaborate on the causal relationships between the factors so that it can offer a more effective model for marketing sustainable tourism. To this end, the factors were identified and categorized using the content analysis of the data collected via reviewing the related literature and conducting interviews with apropos experts. Then, systemic thinking was used qualitatively (validated through the experts’ opinions) to develop the interpretive model of causal relations. According to the study’s findings, 23 factors were classified into five categories based on Maslow's needs pyramid as follows: Physiological needs (perceived quality, price, shopping habits, and perceived behavioral control), safety (protection and beliefs concerning the health in responsible travels), love/attachment (environmental concerns, sense of responsibility, perceived effectiveness, environmental awareness, environmental value, spatial belonging, and emotional dependence on residents), respect (social norms, identity representation, satisfaction, advertising, social media content, attitude regarding the responsible travel, beliefs concerning the luxurious nature of responsible travel, and the image of responsible travel), and self-actualization (self-transcendence and personal norms). Moreover, the proposed conceptual model indicated the mutual influence of the factors and categories on each other. Therefore, marketers are required to plan their intended interventions after prioritizing the target group’s responsible needs and selecting the category of needs using systemic thinking. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

101 - Identifying Componential Elements of Tourism Marketing Using Metasynthesis Method
Ehsan Dorostkar

10.52547/journalitor.36097.10.20.0

As the most widely provided service industry worldwide, tourism has attracted the attention of a wide variety of managers and researchers. Therefore, it is crucially important to identify the componential elements involved in tourism marketing and offer optimal solution More

As the most widely provided service industry worldwide, tourism has attracted the attention of a wide variety of managers and researchers. Therefore, it is crucially important to identify the componential elements involved in tourism marketing and offer optimal solutions to facilitate tourist attraction. Considering the fact that previous has merely partially investigated the factors involved in tourism marketing, this study sought to conduct a comprehensive examination of such factors, systematically reviewing the expansive related literature. This study is considered exploratory in terms of purpose and applied in terms of nature, using the meta-synthesis method to analyze the collected data. The study’s statistical population comprised 580 studies conducted from 2000 to 2020, out of which 87 studies were selected using purposive sampling. The collected data were then gone through content analysis, coded based on open, axial, and selective coding methods, according to which 78 codes, 21 concepts, and six categories were identified and analyzed using the meta-synthesis method. Finally, the validity of the analyzed data was confirmed by Cohen’s Kappa Coefficient. According to the study’s results, the main categories identified for tourism marketing were as follows: integrated marketing (incentive promotional mixtures); satisfaction; relationship marketing; internal marketing; electronic marketing; and ICT factors. Therefore, it could be argued that this study offers a deep understanding of the existing literature on tourism marketing. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

102 - Augmented Reality Technology: A Novel Marketing Tool in Tourism Industry
niloufar hadianfar

10.52547/journalitor.36102.11.22.285

Introduction: Many businesses were challenged by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 worldwide. Meanwhile, the tourism industry was among those industries that were affected the most by the pandemic, suffering huge losses economically. Therefore, conside More

Introduction: Many businesses were challenged by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 worldwide. Meanwhile, the tourism industry was among those industries that were affected the most by the pandemic, suffering huge losses economically. Therefore, considering the restrictions imposed by governments on tourists’ travels to counter the spread of the virus, turning to virtual tourism can partially compensate for some of the losses incurred in this regard. Goal: Investigating the potential tourists' attitudes toward AR applications, their intention to use them in their future travels, and, similarly, their intention to recommend these applications to others. Methods: The required data were collected via online questionnaires using the convenient sampling method. The research questions were then analyzed via the SPSS software using a binominal test. Findings & Results: The results indicated the positive attitude of the respondents and their high willingness to use and recommend this application to others. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggested that the respondents had a positive attitude towards using AR-based applications and that they were willing to use them for their future travels. Moreover, it was found that they were ready to recommend such applications to others. Therefore, AR technology could be regarded as an opportunity for marketing managers of tourist destinations to use to maintain public awareness of their destinations’ brands during the lockdown imposed upon the outbreak of pandemics such as covid-19. Moreover, this new technology can help flourish tourist destinations by creating added value for tourists. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

103 - Investigating the Citizens' Attitude Towards Liveliness of Pedestrian Streets: A Case Study of Charbagh Abbasi Street, Isfahan, Iran
Zahra masaeli samar haghighi

10.61186/journalitor.36104.11.22.231

Enhancing the quality and liveliness of pedestrian zones is being increasingly turned into a significant scenario in the process of tourism development among competing actors at national, regional, and international scales. However, many projects regarding the developme More

Enhancing the quality and liveliness of pedestrian zones is being increasingly turned into a significant scenario in the process of tourism development among competing actors at national, regional, and international scales. However, many projects regarding the development of pedestrian tourism routes are not welcomed by the public when operationalized due to their lack of liveness, despite the huge costs and time dedicated to them in the pre-planning phase. Therefore, the main question posed in this regard is whether there is any significant difference between different people in terms of knowing the factors involved in the liveliness of urban pedestrian zones. The answer to this question could be of great importance, especially in countries like Iran where the decisions to intervene in public spaces are taken unilaterally without the participation of the prospective users of such projects. Thus, this study sought to identify the barriers to obtaining liveliness in Charbagh Abbasi Pedestrian Street" in Isfahan via the Q method, trying to analyze the attitude of different people in this regard using Q factor analysis. To this end, ten frequent users of Charbagh Abbasi Pedestrian Street were selected via snowball sampling method, ten subjects were selected. Moreover, the required data were collected via semi-structured interviews with those ten participants and the review of the related literature, based on which some thirty-nine barriers were identified and prioritized. Finally, Based on the findings of Q factor analysis, the attitude of the participants was classified into three main categories. In other words, the findings of the study revealed three different perspectives on the barriers to obtaining the desired liveliness in such an urban space. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

104 - Investigating the Effect of Digital Revolution on Tourism Business Trends
Seyed Mojtaba Mahmodzadeh Fatemeh Izadi Yazdanabadi Tahereh Ashtiani Aliasghar Heydari

10.61186/journalitor.36111.11.22.201

As an influential basis of development worldwide, especially economic development, tourism currently lies at the center of the world governments’ main policies in job creation, entrepreneurship, and promoting sustainable businesses. On the other hand, by naming the year More

As an influential basis of development worldwide, especially economic development, tourism currently lies at the center of the world governments’ main policies in job creation, entrepreneurship, and promoting sustainable businesses. On the other hand, by naming the year 2018 as “Tourism and Digital Revolution', the World Tourism Organization clearly indicates the significance of the digital revolution and its influence on the sustainable growth of the tourism industry. Considering the influence of the digital revolution on all aspects of human life, including travel and tourism, businesses and organizations involved in tourism have no other choice but to adapt themselves to the current dynamic and ever-changing environment. Therefore, this applied descriptive-survey research sought to examine the effects of the digital revolution on tourism businesses using a quantitative approach. The population of the study comprised the staff of tourism businesses working in Tehran city, among whom 385 people were selected via random sampling. The required data were collected through a questionnaire administered to the participants of the study, which were then analyzed using the SPSS24 and Smart-PLS2 software. The study’s findings indicated that the rate of digital revolution status was above average in terms of all the indices included in the study’s conceptual model. Moreover, the overall role of the digital revolution in tourism businesses was assessed using a single sample T-test. Accordingly, the average rate of most of the twenty-five indices investigated in the study was found to be greater than 4, indicating the influence of the digital revolution on all aspects of tourism organizations which may bring about some changes in tourism businesses. On the other hand, Friedman's variance analysis test revealed a significant difference between the mean ranks of digital revolution components in tourism, with its greatest influence being on human resources training and development. Therefore, it seems necessary to invest in employing and training human resources that can deal with such developments. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

105 - Investigating the Role of Interpretation in Politics-Cultural Heritage Interaction in Terms of Developing Islamic Republic of Iran’s Cultural Tourism
Mohammad reza salehi pour akbar pourfaraj Seyed Mojtaba Mahmodzadeh Ahmad golmohammadi

10.52547/journalitor.36117.10.20.73

The development of cultural tourism depends on the interaction of a wide variety of factors. On the other hand, considering the fact that the process of cultural tourism is influenced by Politics and that cultural heritage is regarded as a constructive source for cultur More

The development of cultural tourism depends on the interaction of a wide variety of factors. On the other hand, considering the fact that the process of cultural tourism is influenced by Politics and that cultural heritage is regarded as a constructive source for cultural tourism, it could be argued that the success of cultural tourism is contingent upon the interaction of Politics and cultural heritage, between which interpretation can act as an intervening factor to establish such an interaction, playing different roles in this regard. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the functions of interpretation as a factor that establish an interaction between politics and cultural heritage and identify the status of such functions in this regard to help the IRI’s cultural tourism benefit from them. To this end, such potential functions were identified by reviewing the related literature and analyzing the qualified experts’ opinions as follows: recalling the spatial identity of historical sites, learning from the ancestors’ works and history, altering the politicians' attitudes towards cultural heritage, strengthening national identity, preserving the historical sites’ structure and spirit, bringing the stakeholders of historical sites closer to each other, fighting against racism and ethnocentrism, correcting historical misunderstandings, converging different cultures, and developing mutual understanding between politicians and the public. Moreover, the surveying phase of the study identified the aggregate opinions of experts concerning the priority of the aforementioned functions using the fuzzy Delphi method. The study’s results revealed that recalling the spatial identity of historical sites, strengthening national identity, and preserving the historical sites’ structure and spirit were those potential functions of interpretation in the interaction between politics and cultural tourism in which the experts had the highest consensus. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

106 - Tourism, Perceived Travel limitations, Seligman's Helplessness Theory, Disabled People
Maedeh Hashemi Zahra Nadalipour

10.61186/journalitor.36119.11.24.195

While leisure limitations have long been the subject of research, there has recently been a growing trend in academic studies that examine such limitations in terms of tourism and disability. However, as those studies are merely limited to the identification and elabora More

While leisure limitations have long been the subject of research, there has recently been a growing trend in academic studies that examine such limitations in terms of tourism and disability. However, as those studies are merely limited to the identification and elaboration of the barriers and limitations., the current study sought to investigate the influence of such limitations on the target population. Therefore, based on the study conducted by Lee et al. (2012), the current study set out to investigate the effect of perceived travel limitations on the tourism tendency of physically disabled individuals living in Tehran, Iran, using Seligman's Helplessness Theory. The required data for this applied, descriptive-analytical correlational study was collected through a survey using a researcher-developed questionnaire. The statistical population of the study comprised all physically disabled people, those suffering from spinal cord injury, and war-disabled individuals living in Tehran, out of whom 383 people were selected as the sample size using the convenience sampling method. The findings of the study indicated that tourism limitations perceived by the disabled residents of Tehran did not significantly affect their tourism tendencies. On the other hand, the perceived tourism limitations exerted a positive influence on their learned helplessness. Finally, the learned helplessness of people with disabilities negatively affected their intention to travel. The results of the present study can be used by relevant institutions such as Tehran's municipality, those responsible for urban management, and institutions in charge of the affairs of disabled people. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

107 - Examining the Role of a Community’s Social Media-based Destination Brand in Winning Tourists’ Hearts Towards Co-Creating Values and Visiting the Place
Zohreh Ali Esmaili Armin Goli

10.61186/journalitor.36134.11.23.155

This study sought to investigate the role of a community’s social media-based destination brand in winning the tourists’ hearts and convincing them to co-create values and visit the community. The population of this applied survey study comprised of Ramsar visitors who More

This study sought to investigate the role of a community’s social media-based destination brand in winning the tourists’ hearts and convincing them to co-create values and visit the community. The population of this applied survey study comprised of Ramsar visitors who discussed it as a travel destination on social media and had used social media to choose Ramsar as a tourist destination. In this regard, 73 media sources where Ramsar had been discussed were selected using a judgmental sampling method. The required data were collected through electronic questionnaires from 384 visitors (out of 450 visitors) who were selected through non-probability convenient sampling. The collected data were then analyzed via SmartPLS software using structural equation modeling and path analysis technique. The findings of the study suggested that a community’s social media-based destination brand had a positive impact on the visitors’ enjoyment of the place, loving the place, and positive surprise towards the destination, persuading them to participate in the co-creation of values and thus revisit the place. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

108 - Investigating the Factors Involved in Tourism Intercultural Communication among Tourists: A Case Study of Hamadan City, Iran
Golnoush jabbari Nader Jafari haftkhani

10.61186/journalitor.36149.12.25.129

In today’s modern world, tourism has turned into an effective way to access the environment and culture through intercultural communication. However, despite its significance in long-term economic development, intercultural communication is neglected in the planning sta More

In today’s modern world, tourism has turned into an effective way to access the environment and culture through intercultural communication. However, despite its significance in long-term economic development, intercultural communication is neglected in the planning stages of tourism development projects. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the factors that influence intercultural communication in tourism using a grounded theory approach. To this end, the required data were collected through detailed semi-structured interviews with fifteen experts and professionals in the tourism industry of Hamedan City who were selected via snowball sampling. The collected data were then analyzed, and the results were organized under six main categories with twenty-six sub-categories. Finally, the theoretical model of the study was developed using the Atlas-Ti software. Accordingly, the main six categories of the model included personal characteristics, socio-cultural characteristics, education, producing materials and creating knowledge on intercultural issues in tourism, management and planning, the health and safety of the environment, and media and information technology in intercultural tourism communication. The results of this study propose an integrated approach for tourism managers and entrepreneurs so that they can develop a high level of intercultural communication and competence for tourists. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

109 - Designing a Strategic Model of the Antecedents of Customer’s Experience in the Tourism Industry
soghra taghipour Samad Aali Alireza Bafandeh Zendeh Hakimeh Niki

10.52547/journalitor.36152.11.21.29

This study sought to identify the antecedents of customers’ experience in the tourism industry using a mixed-method approach. To this end, first, 246 domestic and foreign relevant articles published from 2010 to 2020 were collected in the qualitative phase using the met More

This study sought to identify the antecedents of customers’ experience in the tourism industry using a mixed-method approach. To this end, first, 246 domestic and foreign relevant articles published from 2010 to 2020 were collected in the qualitative phase using the meta-synthesis method, out of which 52 articles were selected and analyzed via the content analysis method. Then, a questionnaire was developed based on the results of the content analysis conducted on the articles mentioned, applying the opinions of 10 experts and specialists in marketing and tourism. The researcher-developed questionnaire was then administered to 440 Iranian tourists who had traveled to Turkey, Malaysia, Azerbaijan, and UAE over the last five years (2016-2021). On the other hand, each construct of the proposed model was examined in terms of mono-dimensionality through a separate measurement model using Kline's method (2005) to ensure that the factor loading of the indicators and the correlation coefficient between factors do not exceed 0.5 and 0.85, respectively. Then, the reliability and validity of the constructs together with the construct validity, convergent validity, and divergent validity were measured, and Cronbach's alpha, Composite Reliability (CR), and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) were calculated. Finally, the model concerning the tourist experience antecedents was developed. According to the results of the study, a model comprising of four main components, including tourist management, tourism destinations’ management, tourism resource management, and tourism product management were developed based on the antecedents of the tourist experience using a mixed method approach (which is one of the innovations of the study). Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

110 - Investigating the Efficiency of Iran's Tourism Industry in Different Climates
maryam asadpour kordi hamid amirnejad seyed hadi naseri ojaki somayeh shirzadi laskukalayeh

10.52547/journalitor.36157.9.18.0

As a service industry that has significantly expanded in recent years, tourism plays an important role in developing many countries, including Iran, which enjoys various unique historical, religious, cultural, and natural sites and a four-season climate. Therefore, this More

As a service industry that has significantly expanded in recent years, tourism plays an important role in developing many countries, including Iran, which enjoys various unique historical, religious, cultural, and natural sites and a four-season climate. Therefore, this study set out to examine the efficiency of Iran's tourism industry using tourism data regarding its 31 provinces during the years 2011 to 2017, including the information concerning the budget allocated to the tourism sector, the number of accommodation places, the number of tourist attraction sites in each province, and the number of domestic and foreign tourists. To this end, Fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis was used to analyze the collected data. The study's results showed that Ardabil, Tehran, Kohkiluyeh Boyer-Ahmad, and Gilan had had the efficiency in terms of tourism throughout the study period, with their average efficiency as a primary criterion for assessing the efficiency of the country's tourism industry reported as average. Moreover, the analysis of the tourism industry's efficiency in different climates suggested that the highest efficiency belonged to the temperate and humid climate, and the lowest one was related to the hot and dry climate. Therefore, it seems that facilitating transportation infrastructure and providing welfare facilities, especially in provinces with low efficiency, could help use the potentials of different provinces to develop the country's tourism industry. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

111 - Tourism Status in Elementary School Textbooks
ebrahim salehi omran memanat Abadini bltark

10.52547/journalitor.36158.9.18.0

This study sought to analyze the content of tourism education in elementary school textbooks. To this end, some 3776 pages of the textbooks' full content were analyzed using the Shannon entropy method. The study's corpus consisted of 41 elementary school textbooks, incl More

This study sought to analyze the content of tourism education in elementary school textbooks. To this end, some 3776 pages of the textbooks' full content were analyzed using the Shannon entropy method. The study's corpus consisted of 41 elementary school textbooks, including Persian Reading, Persian Writing, Experimental Sciences, Social Studies, Heavenly Gifts, Quran, Work and Technology, and Thinking and research. To obtain the validity of the content analysis, four main components of tourism education were derived from the available literature of the field, using the CVR method. Moreover, after reviewing the textbooks' content twice, the results were presented to three different raters to confirm the reliability of the identified components. Accordingly, the data's content validity was found to be 0.09, and its reliability was reported as 0.70. The study's results indicated that the most and least significant components were "The Whatness of tourism" and "The whoness of the tourists" (Tourist identity), respectively." In addition, the highest frequency of the data was found in the social studies book. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

112 - An analysis of e-tourism implementation factors: A Case Study of the Hamadan province, Iran
Abbas Sadeghi Pouryani Abolfazl Tajzadehnamin alireza slambolchi Mansour Esmaeilpour Ali Asgari Sarem

10.52547/journalitor.36159.9.18.0

In the new world of tourism, information technology is used to manage tourism destinations, develop business models, and interact with tourists. Thus, in a tourism destination, the alignment of IT-based practical actions needs to be taken into account. This study set ou More

In the new world of tourism, information technology is used to manage tourism destinations, develop business models, and interact with tourists. Thus, in a tourism destination, the alignment of IT-based practical actions needs to be taken into account. This study set out to analyze the influential factors involved in implementing e-tourism and develop a useful model in this regard, trying to propose operational actions based on the evaluation scores of the factors in the area under study. These factors were obtained from the related literature using thematic analysis. Moreover, interpretive structural modeling was used to determine the relationships between the factors and complexity reduction. The study’s statistical population comprised Hamadan’s tourism experts who were selected via purposive sampling. The study’s findings showed that out of the eleven factors involved in implementing e-tourism, social factors (governmental laws and policies, public awareness and culture, and sense of trust and justice) were the main driving forces. The dependence of technical factors (IT infrastructures in tourist attractions and destination management organizations) on other factors was found to be greater than the other ones. Moreover, based on the study’s results, specific measures were proposed for implementing information technology in Hamadan’s tourism industry through capital asset acquisition projects, private investment projects, and executive activities. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

113 - Designing Entrepreneurship Development Model for cultural tourism in Yazd, the World Heritage City
Mehdi Basouli seyed saeed hashemi Mohammad Hossein Imani khoshkho Seysd habib o allah mirghafouri

10.52547/journalitor.36160.9.18.0

"Due to its very nature, tourism enjoys proper grounds for entrepreneurship development. There are limited studies on the development of entrepreneurship in tourism. Among the growing areas of tourism, ‘Cultural Tourism’ could be referred to as a demanding preference fo More

"Due to its very nature, tourism enjoys proper grounds for entrepreneurship development. There are limited studies on the development of entrepreneurship in tourism. Among the growing areas of tourism, ‘Cultural Tourism’ could be referred to as a demanding preference for development in areas with the potentials for growth. This study sought to provide a model for entrepreneurship development in cultural tourism using Grounded theory. To this end, some eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the required data, out of which and 367 primary codes, 97 secondary codes, 44 concept codes were extracted and classified into ten distinct categories. The study’s population consisted of university instructors and lecturers, experts working in state-owned tourism institutions, the owners of active businesses in Yazd cultural tourism, and the professionals within the field who were selected through ‘theoretical sampling.’ Moreover, the sample size was determined based on theoretical saturation. The study’s results found via the application of the ‘three-pronged model’ indicated that factors involved in the development of cultural tourism entrepreneurship could be categorized in three general categories of ‘structural factors,’ grounds and ‘environmental conditions, and ‘behavioral factors,’ each including their own relevant components and indices. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

114 - Analyzing the Effect of Tourists’ Vandalistic Activities in Rural Areas on Local Community’s Tourist Reception and Tolerance: A Case Study of Neyshabour’s Tourist Villages
Hamdollah Sojasi Qeidari zahra rajaei Asma Bazri Keshtan

10.52547/journalitor.36162.9.18.0

Apart from its positive effects, rural areas’ tourism development would exert some tangible and intangible negative influences on the host community. For instance, some tourists destroy and damage the rural areas’ infrastructure and tourist attractions in different ways More

Apart from its positive effects, rural areas’ tourism development would exert some tangible and intangible negative influences on the host community. For instance, some tourists destroy and damage the rural areas’ infrastructure and tourist attractions in different ways such as engraving remembrance words, breaking down trees, etc., which, in the long term, may negatively affect the relationship between the host community and the visitors of the tourism destination villages, leading to a decrease in community’s tourism reception and social tolerance. Therefore, this study sought to analyze the relationship between tourists’ vandalistic activities in rural areas and the local community’s tourism reception and tolerance in the five tourism villages of Neyshabour. To this end, a descriptive-analytical methodology was applied, using library resources and surveys to collect the required data. The study’s population comprised 92 heads of families living in the studied villages. The results suggested that the most frequent vandalized activity conducted by tourists was polluting the village and its surroundings with wastes and the use of alcoholic drinks and drugs. Scores of the locals’ tourism reception and tolerance were, except one case (tolerance of social anomalies induced by tourist visits), reported above average. Moreover, the results of correlation analysis indicated a significant reverse correlation between tourism reception and the locals’ conflict with tourists. Also, the analysis of the effect of tourists’ vandalistic activities on the local community’s tourism reception and social tolerance showed that the significance level was less than 0.05, indicating that the regression model used for the analysis was significant for both dependent variables. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

115 - " Cognitive mapping of components for developing people-oriented cities and their importance in tourism development: A case study of Yazd province, Iran "
Hamed Fallah Tafti saeede derakhsh vahideh hekmat

10.52547/journalitor.36163.9.18.0

"Contrary to automotive, commodity-based, and money-oriented cities, a people-oriented city is an organic and systematic city based on human virtues and commune where people are concerned about each others’ rights. In such a city, humans are the main focus of urban plan More

"Contrary to automotive, commodity-based, and money-oriented cities, a people-oriented city is an organic and systematic city based on human virtues and commune where people are concerned about each others’ rights. In such a city, humans are the main focus of urban planners, urban developers, and, most importantly, municipal decision-makers and executives. Therefore, here the biological, spiritual, and psychological needs of humans are the fundamental elements taken into account by urban management. This city, then, could unite urban spaces and tourists. Considering its great potentials, Yazd could be a good case for tourism development, building people-oriented cities, and improving the desirability of urban life. This qualitative-quantitative study sought to explore the feasibility of building a people-oriented city in Yazd province based on urban planning and the causal factors involved in this regard, intending to attract more tourists to this region. To this end, 14 interviews were conducted with tourism and urban planning experts, out of which 19 factors involved in building such a city were identified. The causal relationship between the identified factors was examined through a mixed-method approach, using the fuzzy cognitive mapping technique. The study’s findings indicated that educating the citizens, developing a sense of familiarity with the environment, and reducing environmental pollutions (soil, water, air) were the three most important factors for developing people oriented-cities in Yazd province, Iran. " Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

116 - Investigating the impact of community-based tourism on development of rural communities from the perspective of the local community: A Case Study of Paveh Tourist Villages
behrooz badko

10.52547/journalitor.36164.9.18.0

Community-oriented tourism seeks to create economic benefits, preserve natural resources, protect the local culture, and improve the local community's quality of life, so that needs of the present and future generations are met. This type of tourism development would be More

Community-oriented tourism seeks to create economic benefits, preserve natural resources, protect the local culture, and improve the local community's quality of life, so that needs of the present and future generations are met. This type of tourism development would bear maximum benefits if the local communities' infrastructural potentials are strengthened, and the rural community's ability to use them is improved. Therefore, this descriptive-analytical study set out to examine the impact of community-oriented tourism on the development of rural communities from the perspective of the local community. To this end, 365 questionnaires were administered to the target tourism villages (namely Hajij, Shamshir, Nasmeh, and Khaneghah) located in Paveh city, using the SPSS software to analyze the collected data. The results showed that community-based tourism promoted economic, social, cultural, and environmental indicators, leading to rural development. Moreover, the regression analysis on the intended variables suggested economic indicators played the highest role in local community development, followed by social, cultural, and environmental indicators, respectively. Kendall's tau-b test results also proved a significant correlation between local community development and community-based tourism. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

117 - Identifying and Prioritizing Development Steps of Cultural Tourism in Lorestan Province Rural Areas
zeinab asadporiyan yaser mohamadi mehdi rahimian

10.52547/journalitor.36166.9.18.0

This study sought to identify and prioritize the development steps of cultural tourism in rural areas of Lorestan province using the qualitative-quantitative method and exploratory approach. To this end, at the first stage, 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted w More

This study sought to identify and prioritize the development steps of cultural tourism in rural areas of Lorestan province using the qualitative-quantitative method and exploratory approach. To this end, at the first stage, 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted with cultural tourism experts to identify the steps involved in cultural tourism development, out of which thirty-three solutions were identified in four main steps via open, axial, and selective coding. At the second stage, the Delphi-Fuzzy technique was applied in two stages to reach a consensus among the experts and prioritize cultural tourism development steps through the defuzzification process. The results showed that the identified strategies for cultural tourism development in Lorestan province could be categorized into four main steps: "Education and Innovation," "Physical Infrastructure," "Supportive-Institutional," and "Cultural-Advertising." Moreover, since the defuzzificated mean difference of the experts' opinion was less than 0.25 in two steps, all the identified solutions were proved to be valid. The results also indicated that the first and foremost step in tourism development was "education and innovation," followed by physical infrastructure, supportive-institutional, and cultural-promotional steps, respectively. Furthermore, at each step, the most important solutions were found to be advertising for tourism villages, identifying villages with tourism potentials, providing banking facilities for villagers to help them develop tourism, and building cultural elements and particular architectures in rural areas, respectively. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

118 - A Comparative Study of the Tourism Laws’ Hierarchy and Regulations in Iran and Other Countries
Ozra Azizi Ali Asghar Shalbafian aboutaleb ghasemi

10.61186/journalitor.36176.11.23.83

Laws and regulations are among the most important executive and monitoring tools that help governments fulfill their role in setting tourism development policies, and assessing, controlling, and regulating the relations among tourism stakeholders. Therefore, this study More

Laws and regulations are among the most important executive and monitoring tools that help governments fulfill their role in setting tourism development policies, and assessing, controlling, and regulating the relations among tourism stakeholders. Therefore, this study sought to examine the structure and titles of tourism laws in China, France, Malaysia, and Turkey and compare them with the relevant laws and regulations exercised in Iran to identify the status of the key issues in the respective hierarchical system of those countries' laws and regulations. To this end, the study followed the comparative law methodology to analyze the content of the laws and regulations mentioned above using a text-based approach. According to the findings of the study, many of the issues that are turned into law in the countries investigated in the current study occupy a lower position in the hierarchy of Iran’s Tourism Laws and Regulations System, being referred to in terms of either by-laws or executive instructions. Moreover, some issues have not been addressed at any level. Therefore, it can be argued that compared to the countries studied in this research, Iran’s tourism sector does not enjoy a proper status in Iran’s legal system. In other words, the current laws and regulations enforced in Iran lack many key tourism-related issues that could help regulate the relations between various relevant stakeholders, prevent unnecessary interventions by different bodies and organizations, reduce the number of lawsuits among the suppliers of tourism services and tourists, or help coordinate the relevant actors in achieving the intended goals. Therefore, the tourism sector needs a centralized, transparent, and comprehensive law. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

119 - Investigating the Factors Affecting the Demand for Medical Tourism in Mashhad
Fatemeh Rahmani pejman avazpoor

10.52547/journalitor.36189.11.21.119

As one of the largest and most profitable sub-sectors of tourism worldwide, Medical Tourism is considered an economic activity involving service exchanges, representing the link between at least medicine and tourism sectors. Therefore, this study sought to investigate t More

As one of the largest and most profitable sub-sectors of tourism worldwide, Medical Tourism is considered an economic activity involving service exchanges, representing the link between at least medicine and tourism sectors. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the factors affecting the demands for medical tourism in Mashhad using the Multinomial Logit Model, which was estimated by Stata 16 software. The statistical population of the study comprised of domestic medical tourists who visited Mashhad in 2021, out of whom 150 people were selected as the participants. The dependent variable of the study was the demand for medical tourism in Mashhad, that was divided into low, high, and medium classes, and the required data was collected by administering a questionnaire. Accordingly, it was found that an increase in the quality of medical and urban services, low medical costs, and an increase in the tourists’ income would increase the demand for medical tourism in Mashhad. Moreover, the quality of medical services’ sub-indices and urban factors were also evaluated separately by the tourists who participated in this study. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

120 - Investigating the Effect of Leisure Time's Perceived Risks on Sports Tourists’ Social Happiness During COVID_ 19 Pandemic
sahar pirjamadi Ahmad Mahmoudi Vahid Saatchian Kamran Romiani

10.52547/journalitor.36190.10.20.1

This descriptive study sought to investigate the effect of leisure time's perceived risks on the sports tourists’ social happiness during the COVID_ 19 Pandemic using the structural equation model. The study’s statistical population comprised all tourists who used sport More

This descriptive study sought to investigate the effect of leisure time's perceived risks on the sports tourists’ social happiness during the COVID_ 19 Pandemic using the structural equation model. The study’s statistical population comprised all tourists who used sports tourism complexes in Mashhad, out of whom 381 people were selected via purposive sampling. The required data were collected via Ishraqi et al’ (2017) perceived risks questionnaire and the oxford social happiness scale. The questionnaires’ face and content validities were confirmed by experts, and their construct validity was confirmed via exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, the questionnaires’ reliability, obtained through Cronbach's alpha, was found to be over 0.7. As for analyzing the data, descriptive and inferential statistics such as one-sample T-test and structural equation modeling were used. The study’s results indicated a significant difference between the mean perceived risk components, the tourists’ happiness, and the theoretical mean. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between perceived risk components and the tourist's happiness during the COVID_ 19 Pandemic. Therefore, it is emphasized that factors such as supervision, planning, hardware, security, information provision, organizational matters, and internationally recognized methods be considered in setting sports tourism policies to prevent the psychological consequences of COVID_ 19 and achieve perfect social happiness. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

121 - Investigating the Relationship between Tourism and Creating a Happy City: A Case Study of Chalous and Nowshahr Cities, Mazandaran, Iran
nastaran khandan nazanin Tabrizi mohammad hasan zaal

10.52547/journalitor.36192.11.21.95

Tourism can help create happiness and, therefore, provide people with the satisfaction of life. On the other hand, the presence of a "happy host" is a fundamental requirement for the successful development of tourism, making the monitoring of the tourism-induces happine More

Tourism can help create happiness and, therefore, provide people with the satisfaction of life. On the other hand, the presence of a "happy host" is a fundamental requirement for the successful development of tourism, making the monitoring of the tourism-induces happiness and satisfaction level a key factor in any such development program. In this regard, as assessing the issue in Noshahr and Chalous cities (as two main tourist destinations in northern Iran) is of particular importance, this study set out to investigate the role of tourism in constructing the indices of a happy city in Chalus and Nowshahr. The statistical population of the study comprised residents of Nowshahr and Chalous cities. Moreover, the sample size was estimated to be 380 using Cochran's formula, and the participants of the study were selected via the convenience sampling method. Finally, the data collected from the questionnaires distributed among the respondents were analyzed through structural equations and factor analysis using the SPSS and PLS software. The results revealed that tourism was effective in creating happy cities in Nowshahr and Chalous. However, according to the results of statistical tests, the extent of such influence was found to be very poor. It was also found that tourism slightly increased the welfare, happiness, social participation, and satisfaction of the residents of Nowshahr and Chalous cities. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

122 - Investigating the Factors Involved in Feasibility Studies of Tourism Development in Kermanshah Province: A Local Community Perspective
Mohammad Ali Feizpour Habib Ansari samani zahra naseri

10.61186/journalitor.36202.11.23.1

Considering the dependence of tourism on its host community and thus the interdependence of tourists and local residents, it could be argued that the culture and viewpoints of the local people may influence tourism activities. Therefore, the local community must be acti More

Considering the dependence of tourism on its host community and thus the interdependence of tourists and local residents, it could be argued that the culture and viewpoints of the local people may influence tourism activities. Therefore, the local community must be actively involved in the development process to ensure the success of feasibility studies, proper assessment of investments made in tourism, and the extension of tourism projects’ lifespan. In this regard, this study sought to perform a feasibility analysis of tourism activities, focusing on running a coffee shop in a representative tourist destination in Kermanshah Province, Iran. To this end, the tourism development project during the years 2019-2023 was examined in terms of financial and economic assessments, and the evaluation of its effects from the viewpoint of the local community. The financial and economic data were collected from the Statistical Center of Iran, and the data concerning the evaluation of the project’s effects from the local community’s perspective were gathered through a questionnaire. The results of the financial and economic feasibility study indicated that setting up the coffee shop was financially and economically viable and justified. On the other hand, the evaluation of the local residents’ viewpoint in this regard revealed that tourism could contribute to economic prosperity, the introduction of the region to others, feeling the sense of pride by the local people, and the restoration and reconstruction of historical buildings. This study attempted to identify the factors involved in the feasibility study of tourism and assess the local community's viewpoint regarding the effects of tourism. The findings of the study suggested that financial and economic feasibility studies along with an evaluation of the effects of tourism could contribute to the success of investment projects. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

123 - Explaining Socio-cultural Factors Affecting Creative Tourism From the Tourists’ Perspective: A Case Study of Zayandehrood Visitors
Faezeh Mohaghegh masoud taghvaei Negin sadeghy

10.52547/journalitor.36220.11.21.69

Creative tourism is a type of emerging cultural tourism that focuses on skill development. Accordingly, cultural heritage, rituals, and handicrafts can be presented in such a way as to provide more interactions between visitors and the local population. In this regard, More

Creative tourism is a type of emerging cultural tourism that focuses on skill development. Accordingly, cultural heritage, rituals, and handicrafts can be presented in such a way as to provide more interactions between visitors and the local population. In this regard, due to successive droughts in Isfahan city and thus the decreasing number of visiting tourists, it appears necessary to develop creative sociocultural tourism in the city, especially with regard to the Zayandehrood site. Therefore, this study sought to identify and prioritize socio-cultural factors involved in creative tourism from the perspective of the tourists who visited Zayandehrood using a descriptive-analytic and survey-based method. To this end, confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze the collected data using the Amos software. The results indicated that among socio-cultural factors, it was the cultural ones that had the priority in creative tourism of Zayandehrood. Therefore, it could be argued that introducing the indigenous culture of the Zayandehrood area will be effective in attracting tourists even during the drought. Finally, Zayandehrood-based creative cultural tourism strategies were developed using the QSPM matrix, according to which "creating an atmosphere and organizing events based on the cultural capacities of Isfahan with an emphasis on Zayandehrood" turned out to be the prioritized strategy, with its score being 10.48. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

124 - Developing A Framework for Increasing the Foreign Tourists’ Tendency for Traveling to Iran with an Emphasis on Soft Power
Shadi Mahmoudi darani Mohammad Mehdi Rahimian Asl Mohammad Hasan Maleki Majid Nili Ahmadabadi

10.61186/journalitor.36221.12.25.153

Developed within the past decades as a key concept in international and power relations, soft power emphasizes diplomacy, culture, art, and propaganda instead of hard and coercive aspects of power. As soft power affects the international prestige and credit of countries More

Developed within the past decades as a key concept in international and power relations, soft power emphasizes diplomacy, culture, art, and propaganda instead of hard and coercive aspects of power. As soft power affects the international prestige and credit of countries, this applied exploratory study sought to elaborate on the role of soft power and its componential elements in attracting foreign tourists. The theoretical population of the study comprised fifteen experts in soft power and tourism who were selected via convenience sampling. To conduct the study, twenty-seven factors were identified by reviewing the related literature on tourism and soft power. The factors were then screened via the Binomial test, out of which seventeen factors were excluded due to their over 5% significance coefficient. The remaining ten factors were then analyzed using the cross-impact analysis (CIA) technique. The results of the study indicated that successful organization of political, artistic, scientific, sports, and literary events at the international level, the presence of foreign companies in the business environment of Iran, cyberspace and social networks, and improving tolerance among influential reference groups in society contributed the most to attracting tourists to Iran. The study was also replicated using the DEMATEL method, producing very similar results compared to the previous test, and the same four factors were identified as the most influential factors in attracting foreign tourists. It should be noted that the DEMATEL method and cross-impact analysis are based on a critical realism approach, considering the fact that they both enjoy structural analysis. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

125 - A Future Study of Business Intelligence in the Tourism Industry
nayereh abtahi Mohammad Hasan Maleki behrooz bayat tohfeh ghobadi

10.61186/journalitor.36223.11.22.133

Despite potential tourism capacities in Iran, few foreign tourists visit Iran compared to the competing countries due to the lack of infrastructure, the existence of legal barriers, and the sanctions imposed against Iran. As considerable growth in the application of inf More

Despite potential tourism capacities in Iran, few foreign tourists visit Iran compared to the competing countries due to the lack of infrastructure, the existence of legal barriers, and the sanctions imposed against Iran. As considerable growth in the application of information technology to tourism is one of the main trends in this industry, this applied exploratory study sought to identify future scenarios of business intelligence in Iran’s tourism industry using both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the collected data. The population of the study comprised tourism, future study, and business intelligence experts, out of whom the intended participants were selected via judgmental sampling. The study was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, thirty effective driving forces of the prospective business intelligence in the tourism industry were identified by reviewing the related literature and interviewing the experts. In the next phase, the identified driving forces were screened and prioritized using the EDAS. To this end, the driving forces were screened via the Binominal test, twenty of which were eliminated from the analysis, accordingly. Then, the remaining ten driving forces were assessed using the EDAS method. Finally, the type of decision-making culture and the arrival of foreign tourists were selected as the final driving forces, which, together with the application of root definitions and the organization of consultation workshop, formed the basis of offering four scenarios, namely the prosperity, heterogeneity, the spider web, and the ice ages. Accordingly, the prosperity and ice age scenarios illustrate the best and worst conditions for the future of business intelligence in tourism, respectively. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

126 - Investigating the Role of Social Capital, Social Interaction, and Knowledge Sharing in E-Tourism Marketing
haydar mohammadi mosavi jad seyed mohammad yosra salehi seyede hayde nemati

10.61186/journalitor.36224.11.23.181

Today, the expansion of electronic tourism has decreased the intermediary role of travel agencies, and tourists themselves directly purchase travel packages. Therefore, travel agencies must develop new strategies to deal with this new situation and revive their business More

Today, the expansion of electronic tourism has decreased the intermediary role of travel agencies, and tourists themselves directly purchase travel packages. Therefore, travel agencies must develop new strategies to deal with this new situation and revive their business, including the use of social capital, social interaction, and knowledge sharing in electronic tourism marketing. This study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive survey in terms of methodology. The statistical population of the study comprised managers of travel agencies in Tehran, out of whom 110 participants were selected via non-probable quota sampling. The required data were collected through a researcher-developed questionnaire, whose content validity was confirmed by six expert professors and experts in the field of tourism and management. Moreover, the convergent and divergent validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. On the other hand, the total and composite reliability of the questionnaire was found to be over 0.7 and 0.8, respectively, which proved to be acceptable. The collected data were then analyzed under descriptive and inferential categories using the SPSS and SmartPLS software. The findings of the study indicated that social capital, social interaction, and knowledge sharing had a direct influence on e-tourism marketing. Moreover, social capital and social interaction were found to have a significant positive influence on knowledge sharing. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

127 - Conducting Tourism Component-based Content Analysis on Social Studies Textbooks of Second-grade Elementary School
Faezeh Asadian Ardakani

10.52547/journalitor.36227.11.21.195

Considering the fact that tourism is regarded as an essential industry that provides many opportunities for the development of communities, introducing and teaching tourism and its components by the education establishment is a crucially important strategy that can help More

Considering the fact that tourism is regarded as an essential industry that provides many opportunities for the development of communities, introducing and teaching tourism and its components by the education establishment is a crucially important strategy that can help develop tourism in a country. On the other hand, elementary school education forms the basis of all instructions, requiring special attention to be paid at this phase. Therefore, considering the role and significance of curriculum in teaching tourism concepts, especially the necessity for the inclusion of such concepts in textbooks, this study sought to analyze the content of the social studies textbooks taught at second-grade elementary school, taking tourism’s componential elements into account. To this end, Shannon’s entropy model was used to analyze the textbooks’ content (texts, images, tasks), designating the page as the unit of analysis. Moreover, the study's statistical population comprised of three textbooks designed to be taught at the fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade elementary school level, out of which 406 pages were selected. The results indicated that 994 items had addressed the components of tourism education. It was also found that the highest attention had been paid to "environmental protection", with its information load and coefficient correlation being 0.9849 and 0.1319, respectively. Furthermore, the lowest attention was reported to have been paid to the component of "roads and means of travel transportation," with its information load and coefficient correlation being 0.5203 and 0.0731, respectively. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

128 - Perceived Authenticity, Satisfaction, Revisiting, Cultural Heritage Tourism, Kourd House, Sanandaj
akbar pourfaraj sasan ahmadi

10.61186/journalitor.36228.11.24.1

While many scholars believe that tourists take the trouble to visit authentic destinations away from their place of residence, few studies have so far been conducted in this regard. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the role of perceived authenticity on touris More

While many scholars believe that tourists take the trouble to visit authentic destinations away from their place of residence, few studies have so far been conducted in this regard. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the role of perceived authenticity on tourists' satisfaction and revisiting intention. To this end, perceived authenticity was divided into objective, structural, and existential categories based on the analysis of the related literature review. Moreover, the study was conducted in the Kourd House Ethnology Museum of Sanandaj. On the other hand, to collect the required data, a valid questionnaire was administered to 224 tourists who visited the place. Finally, the collected data were analyzed through SPSS20 software using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicated that objective, structural, and existential authenticity positively influenced tourists’ satisfaction. However, it was merely the objective and existential authenticity that exerted a positive effect on the tourists’ intention to revisit the place. Moreover, tourists’ satisfaction was also found to have a positive influence on their revisiting intention. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

129 - Investigating Agrotourism Aesthetics and Social Production of Space from Local Stakeholders’ Perspective: A Case Study of Grape Festival in Abhar City, Darsjin Village, Iran
mohamad taghi heydari Daruish jahani Ismail Dali yagoob haghi

10.61186/journalitor.36229.11.24.57

Playing a significant role in reducing rural poverty, fostering sustainable agricultural and rural development, creating income-generating opportunities for local residents, promoting the culture of natural resource protection, and optimal use of cultural and natural at More

Playing a significant role in reducing rural poverty, fostering sustainable agricultural and rural development, creating income-generating opportunities for local residents, promoting the culture of natural resource protection, and optimal use of cultural and natural attractions, agricultural tourism provides the basis for interaction between village residents and visiting tourists. In this regard, this study sought to examine the driving forces involved in developing agricultural tourism in Dresjin village from the local stakeholders’ perspective, focusing on the grape festival. The current research is applied in terms of type and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature. The sample size of the study comprised seventy-eight household members who were interviewed along the sidewalks leading to the festival site of Dresjin village. The required data were also collected through library and field studies. The data were then analyzed via the MICMAC approach using the worst-best preference technique. The findings of the study indicated that the positive and pleasant feeling produced by the space and the restoration and maintenance of monuments were the most significantly preferred factors involved in the social production of the space, providing the visitors of Dresjin village with a pleasant feeling and bringing about positive results for the village. Therefore, it appears that tourism development programs must be developed for the village, including clearly set missions and duties of relevant organizations. Such well-developed programs could help avoid parallel working and unnecessary duplications, and also create a sense of responsibility in the actors involved through the tasks assigned to them. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

130 - Tourism, Public Policy, Tourism Policy, Policy Implementation, Gilan Province
Ezzatollah Abbasian shabnam zarjou seyyed Hamed Hashemi

10.61186/journalitor.36230.11.24.35

The current study set out to identify the influential factors involved in implementing public tourism policies in Gilan province, Iran. To this end, this developmental qualitative research applies an inductive approach and follows the interpretive-constructivist philoso More

The current study set out to identify the influential factors involved in implementing public tourism policies in Gilan province, Iran. To this end, this developmental qualitative research applies an inductive approach and follows the interpretive-constructivist philosophy. The study’s population consisted of experts in the field of tourism, public policy, Gilan studies, and geography, out of whom some twenty experts were selected and interviewed using purposive snowball sampling. According to the findings of the study, technological, cultural, social, economic, and political-administrative factors were found to have contributed to the implementation of the public tourism policy in Gilan province. In this regard, the political-administrative factor was found to comprise bureaucracy reduction, education, and human resources development and improvement. Moreover, it was revealed that the social factors included strengthening social responsibility, increasing public and non-governmental organizations' participation, proper communication of the executive department with residents, and enjoying social capital. On the other hand, the results showed that the cultural factor consisted of utilizing cultural symbols, developing localized policies, and emphasizing the cultural structure of each region and that the technological factor included the emphasis on media advertisement and strengthening technological infrastructure. Finally, the economic factor was found to comprise participatory governance, proper financial planning, and proper budgeting. The main achievement of this research is its focus on the implementation aspect of policy-making and the recognition of various cultural, technological, social, economic, and political-administrative factors in the successful implementation of tourism policies, suggesting that in addition to economic factors, some other factors also contribute to the effective policy implementation, a fact which has been neglected in many similar studies. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

131 - Designing a Model for The Development of Rural Entrepreneurship Ecosystem with Emphasis on Ecotourism Resorts in Tourist Villages of Khorasan Razavi Province
Javad Sakhdari Jahangir Yadolahi farsi Malihe Shahriary

10.52547/journalitor.36239.11.21.169

Developing the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem could be considered an appropriate strategy to accelerate the development of rural areas and increase job opportunities. On the other hand, applying entrepreneurship to Iran’s ecotourism and rural tourism is considered a s More

Developing the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem could be considered an appropriate strategy to accelerate the development of rural areas and increase job opportunities. On the other hand, applying entrepreneurship to Iran’s ecotourism and rural tourism is considered a supplement to agricultural activities to create favorable living conditions for the villagers and resolve the challenges existing in rural development. Therefore, this study sought to present a model for developing the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem in target tourism villages of Khorasan Razavi province using a qualitative research method with an applied descriptive-survey approach. To this end, the required data were collected via semi-structured interviews made with fifteen managers and board members of eco-tourist resorts. The data were then analyzed using the Grounded Theory method. Moreover, the validity and reliability of the model were measured via the Kappa index and confirmed by two researchers in the field of tourism and a few university professors. The study’s results suggested that the development of the ecosystem requires the decision maker to consider five aspects, including strategic orientation and effective leadership, identify appropriate sites’ locations, monitor the ecosystem’s development and provide its improvement mechanisms, set the demand-side policies, supply-side policies, and twelve sub-factors. Therefore, it could be argued that the proposed model may provide valuable insights for the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in rural areas with an emphasis on ecotourism opportunities. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

132 - Developing A Structural Model for Establishing A Sustainable Consumption and Production Pattern in Tourism Industry
Faezeh Mirfakhraee

10.61186/journalitor.36245.11.22.173

Sustainable consumption and production patterns (SCP) play a crucially important role in the sustainable implementation of all economic activities. Therefore, this study specifically sought to develop a structural model to assess the driving forces involved in establish More

Sustainable consumption and production patterns (SCP) play a crucially important role in the sustainable implementation of all economic activities. Therefore, this study specifically sought to develop a structural model to assess the driving forces involved in establishing a sustainable consumption and production pattern and to improve the sustainable aspects of the supply chain in tourism. To this end, first, fourteen consumption and production-related factors were selected and developed using the relevant literature and the experts’ views. Then, the collected data were analyzed using the Gray Relational Analysis, considering the fact that this model helps identify the causal relationships between the selected stimuli and assess the power of their mutual interactions. According to the study’s findings, ten influencing driving forces and four influenced ones were identified as the factors involved in establishing a sustainable consumption and production pattern in the tourism industry. Accordingly, the highly influential driving forces that readily affect other driving forces were identified as the "Government policies and regulations for developing an integrated system of sustainable consumption and production", "The managerial Support and involvement in implementing a sustainable consumption and production pattern", "Initiatives and advertising campaigns developed by various tourism enterprises for implementing a sustainable consumption and production pattern", and “Gaining market advantage and improving the overall performance in the industry". Identifying the causes and effects involved in implementing a sustainable consumption and production pattern in tourism’s supply chain, the findings of this study can help managers easily analyze relevant issues in this regard and thus enhance their overall performance by recognizing the cause and effect driving forces. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

133 - Investigating the Role of Residents' Support for Health Tourism Development in Marketing Using the Cognitive Mapping Approach: A Case Study of Isfahan’s Healthcare Town
mahnaz Doosti-Irani Mir Mohammad Asadi

10.61186/journalitor.36247.11.23.63

Focusing on "the residents' support for the development of health tourism" as a variable that could be considered by marketers to increase demands for this kind of tourism, this study sought to investigate the variables affected by the residents' support and prepare a f More

Focusing on "the residents' support for the development of health tourism" as a variable that could be considered by marketers to increase demands for this kind of tourism, this study sought to investigate the variables affected by the residents' support and prepare a fuzzy cognitive map of such factors using a systemic model. To this end, the aforementioned variables were identified using the Delphi technique. Then, the research model was developed and analyzed using fuzzy cognitive mapping. The findings of the study suggested that the residents' support affected factors such as the destination image, tourist satisfaction, tourist loyalty, positive advertisements by word of mouth, perceived quality of services, tourists' emotional solidarity with the residents, and spatial belonging of tourists to destinations. Moreover, the results of fuzzy cognitive mapping showed that in a system consisting of the above-mentioned variables, the residents' support played a significant role in tourist loyalty and positive word-of-mouth advertisement, with its impact being greater than that of satisfaction or even service quality. In other words, winning the residents' support is a priority in this regard. Moreover, residents' support affects other relevant factors, including perceived quality, tourist satisfaction, spatial belonging, and emotional attachment. Therefore, gaining the residents’ support is highly recommended to be considered in marketing health tourism. Considering the research gaps in this field, the results of the current study could be used for enriching the related literature. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

134 - Investigating the Effect of Socio-Subjective Norms-induced Cognitive Risk Perception on Tourists' Behavioral Intentions During Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Shiraz City, Iran
Yazdan Shirmohammadi Jafar Ahangaran Amin Ghanbari

10.61186/journalitor.36251.11.23.129

This survey study sought to investigate the effect of cognitive risk perception induced by the subjective norms attitude on tourists' behavioral intentions during the Covid-19 pandemic using structural equation modeling. The statistical population of the study comprised More

This survey study sought to investigate the effect of cognitive risk perception induced by the subjective norms attitude on tourists' behavioral intentions during the Covid-19 pandemic using structural equation modeling. The statistical population of the study comprised all tourists who visited the cultural and historical sites of Shiraz City, Iran, out of whom 384 people were selected through convenient sampling using the Cochran formula with a 95% confidence level. To collect the required data, a researcher-developed questionnaire on the “effect of tourists' perception on their target destinations during the Covid-19 pandemic” was administered to the participants. The collected data were then analyzed using Amos software and SPSS software. On the other hand, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were measured via Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Accordingly, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, composite reliability, and Average Variance Extracted values were reported as over 0.7, 0.7, and 0.5, thus confirming the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Finally, the structural equation model was used to test the research hypotheses and the relationships between research variables (cognitive risk, behavioral intentions, and subjective norms). The findings of the study suggested that cognitive risk perception positively affected tourists' behavioral intentions through their subjective norms and attitude. Moreover, attitude was recognized as a significant mediator between risk perception and behavioral intentions, while subjective norms mediated the relationship between cognitive perception and behavioral intentions. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

135 - A Behavioral Study of Supply and Demand in Tourism Industry Based on the Capitalist System's Developments
Hamid Shayan mahdi mododi sajad ferdowsi

10.52547/journalitor.36268.10.19.0

Identifying the behavioral patterns of applicants and suppliers of tourism products in different destinations is considered as one of the most important marketing tools. Therefore, This study sought to develop a model for investigating the supply and demand behavior in More

Identifying the behavioral patterns of applicants and suppliers of tourism products in different destinations is considered as one of the most important marketing tools. Therefore, This study sought to develop a model for investigating the supply and demand behavior in tourism based on the developments made in the capitalist system. Accordingly, to identify and classify the factors regarding the behavioral changes in the supply and demand system within the tourism industry with regard to the capitalist system's developments, the relevant literature was systematically reviewed using the meta-synthesis approach. The statistical population of the study comprised all studies published in reliable scientific databases related to this study's topic. The findings of the study indicated that the supply and demand behavior in the tourism industry has changed in line with the developments made in the capitalist system from Fordism to Post-Fordism. Accordingly, behavioral changes in the tourism demand can be defined based on three components, namely planning, tourism products, and features. Also, the behavioral changes of tourism supply can be defined based on four components including the economy, planning, tourism products, structure, and function. This study prepared the ground for identifying the behavioral pattern of supply and demand in tourism by measuring and evaluating the behavioral model of supply and demand in tourism based on the capitalist system's developments, directing the development of tourism in different regions. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

136 - An Analysis on Capacity Building of Community-Based Tourism in Yazd
Hosein Kalantari Zahra Pirmoradian Ali Shamsuddini

10.52547/journalitor.36270.10.19.0

The tourism industry, with its own characteristics, is a dynamic industry with a bright future. Investing in this industry could play an important role in increasing national income while being free from adverse environmental consequences. Due to the increasing importan More

The tourism industry, with its own characteristics, is a dynamic industry with a bright future. Investing in this industry could play an important role in increasing national income while being free from adverse environmental consequences. Due to the increasing importance of tourism, it is necessary to analyze its impact on other dimensions. Possessing special potentials, the Yazd city is highly affected by different economic, social, environmental, and physical aspects of the tourism industry. As the Yazd province enjoys the required capacities for performing activities such as climbing, visiting the sand dunes and sand flows, hiking in the slopes of Shirkouh, etc., effective steps can be taken for improving tourist attractions through accurate and well-reflected planning. Therefore, this study sought to identify relevant factors, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in developing sustainable tourism, elaborating on an appropriate model for realizing this goal and analyzing a community-based tourism capacity building in Yazd. The required data for this "descriptive-analytical" study were collected from library studies, relevant documents, and the questionnaire administered on 50 experts and staff members of active tourism NGOs, which were analyzed and weighted using the SWOT-AHP integrated model. The investigated indices included attracting public participation (public mobilization) with a total average of 4/4, facilitating (offering information), institutionalizing and empowering local groups with a total average of 4/3, enhancing collective partnership system with a total average of 4/2, identifying entrepreneurship and job opportunities, and local needs analysis and its update, indicating that tourism NGOs possess high capacities for implementing community-based tourism in Yazd. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

137 - Investigating Value Creation Framework through Tourism Services' Integrated Electronic Supply Chain
Ozra Azizi hamid Reza Zargham Broujeni Mahmood Ziaee Mohammad Taghi Taghavifard

10.52547/journalitor.36273.10.19.91

Supply chains have evolved over time from improving supply-side processes to meeting customer needs and value chains. The fact that the tourism industry's customers want to get an integrated product requires an interactive framework for value creation among different st More

Supply chains have evolved over time from improving supply-side processes to meeting customer needs and value chains. The fact that the tourism industry's customers want to get an integrated product requires an interactive framework for value creation among different stakeholders, the realization of which has always faced some barriers. As the Internet and the development of the tourism's electronic supply chain provide an interactive platform for integration, this study sought to identify the factors involved in the integration of the supply chain and to find out how to create value through the chain. To this end, a framework was proposed based on the categories, sub-categories, and concepts presented in previous studies using the meta-synthesis method. Having reviewed 175 abstracts, t119 items were examined in terms of the Critical Assessment Skills Program checklist, and 35 items were investigated in terms of their content. The study's findings indicated that different types of internal and external drivers and barriers affected the macro environment, chain, and different aspects of internal integration, suppliers (external), and customers. Therefore, it could be argued that the integration of the supply chain and co-creation of value leads to value creation for all stakeholders and that the electronic supply chain provides the interactive grounds for integration, co-creation, and value creation. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

138 - Presenting a Framework for Developing Ecotourism in Kermanshah Province's Target tourism Villages
heshmat moradi Alireza Poursaeid Marjan vahedi mohamad bagher Arayesh

10.52547/journalitor.36274.10.19.115

Ecotourism is a sustainable strategy for earning revenues while preserving natural resources. Therefore, this study set out to provide a framework for developing ecotourism in Kermanshah province's target tourism villages using grounded theory. The required data were c More

Ecotourism is a sustainable strategy for earning revenues while preserving natural resources. Therefore, this study set out to provide a framework for developing ecotourism in Kermanshah province's target tourism villages using grounded theory. The required data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 20 experts who were selected through snowball sampling. The collected data were then analyzed in Maxqda12 software using open coding, axial coding, and selective coding approach, resulting in 433 codes, 124 concepts, 23 sub-categories, and 6 main categories. The main categories of the model included causal categories (participatory, economic, regional attractions and potentials, policy, social and cultural, managerial, infrastructure, ecotourism services and facilities, and the core category of ecotourism development), intervening categories (economic, managerial, and educational), strategic categories (economic and educational), and consequential categories (positive and negative economic consequences, and social, cultural and environmental consequences) were grouped together in a paradigmatic framework. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

139 - Identifying Effective Factors in Tourists' Satisfaction of and Tendency to Purchase from Mashhad's Shopping Centers
sara parsapour Hadi Rafiei Darani

10.52547/journalitor.36275.10.19.166

Purchasing is a new type of tourism that is considered as one of the main activities of tourists. This study sought to investigate the effect of shopping centers' features, traveling options, and the tourist destination's economic and social characteristics on tourists’ More

Purchasing is a new type of tourism that is considered as one of the main activities of tourists. This study sought to investigate the effect of shopping centers' features, traveling options, and the tourist destination's economic and social characteristics on tourists’ satisfaction of and tendency to purchase from shopping centers with an emphasis on comparing tourists and pilgrims visiting Mashhad's traditional and modern shopping centers (Bazaar Reza and Almas-e-Sharq). To this end, 404 questionnaires were administered during the summer of 2019, using multiple logit analyses to identify the relevant factors. The study's results indicated that variables such as background information concerning the shopping center, the number of family members accompanying a person in travel, seller`s appropriate treatment, the existence of parking lots, quality of the product, marital status, geographical location, income, and product variety had a significant effect on tourists' tendency to purchase from shopping centers. Therefore, to increase the tourists' satisfaction of and willingness to purchase from shopping centers, the following steps are recommended to be taken: constructing shopping centers in places that are easier to access for the tourists; Exercising stricter supervision on prices of different products and services; equipping the shopping centers with parking lots that are capacious enough, and providing the shopping centers with diverse various goods and services. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

140 - Investigating Socio-Economic Impact of Religious Tourism on Spatial Development of Qom Province
Ali Sadeghi Valiollah Nazari Mohammad Gholami Mohammad Amir Amrollahi

10.52547/journalitor.36277.10.19.195

This descriptive-analytical study sought to investigate the socio-economic impacts of religious tourism on the spatial development of Qom province, using a researcher-developed questionnaire designed via Analytical Hierarchy Process to collect its required data. To this More

This descriptive-analytical study sought to investigate the socio-economic impacts of religious tourism on the spatial development of Qom province, using a researcher-developed questionnaire designed via Analytical Hierarchy Process to collect its required data. To this end, the required criteria were developed at two levels: the economic level comprising of five sub-criteria, including "Increase in employment, increase in incomes, reduction in inflation, increase in regional production", and: private sector participation", and the social level comprising three sub-criteria, including "Increasing the security, increasing the social culture, improving services and infrastructure". The results of surveying the priority of these criteria indicated the high impact of the economic element of tourism on the spatial development of Qom province. According to experts, the more economic power the people have, the better its impact would be on the social and environmental sectors of the society. Also, the criteria were also evaluated and prioritized within the study area that formed different districts of Qom province. Accordingly, it was found that the spatial development of the central district of the province (Qom city) was mostly influenced by religious tourism in terms of 5 criteria out of the 8 criteria identified in the study, suggesting that Qom, as the hub of religious tourism of the province, outweighs other parts of the province in terms of development, which may cause some problems in the future for the development of tourism in Qom province. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

141 - Segmenting and Profiling Psychological-Demographic Behavior of Karbala Pilgrims Attending the Annual Arbaeen Rituals: A Case Study of Pilgrims Crossing Khuzestan Province's Air and Land Borders
Yaghoob daghagheleh maryam darvishi

10.52547/journalitor.36278.10.19.221

Religious tourism is one of the five main branches of tourism according to the World Trade Organization. The popularity of pilgrimage has increased in recent decades, and religious tourism has been an important part of the dynamics of the world tourism economy. Therefor More

Religious tourism is one of the five main branches of tourism according to the World Trade Organization. The popularity of pilgrimage has increased in recent decades, and religious tourism has been an important part of the dynamics of the world tourism economy. Therefore, this applied descriptive-survey study sought to segment and determine the psychological-demographic and behavioral profile of Karbala pilgrims attending the annual Arbaeen rituals. The statistical population of the study comprised of the pilgrims of Karbala who have traveled through the borders of Khuzestan province to attend the Arbaeen rituals. The neural network algorithm was used to analyze the data via self-organizing maps. The study's findings indicated that there were three different groups of pilgrims with different travel motives, who were categorized as a) being more tourist than a pilgrim (tourist pilgrim), b) being more pilgrim than a tourist (pilgrim tourist), and c) pilgrims. These three groups of tourists were named after leisureists, enthusiasts of various activities, and religious people, suggesting that each type of pilgrim had its own psychological, demographic, and behavioral characteristics. Therefore, marketing strategies for developing tourism activities should be set based on the characteristics of each type of tourist. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

142 - Determining the Tourism Calendar Using the Climate Tourism Index (TCI) and the Climate-Holiday Index (HCI): A Case Study of Astara, Gilan Province
Tooba Abedi Ladan Kazemi Rad Roya Abedi

10.52547/journalitor.36279.10.19.251

Favorable climatic conditions are the most important information that nature tourists need to choose their destination. Moreover, one of tourism climatologists' goals is to identify different types of climates that affect tourism. Therefore, this study sought to investi More

Favorable climatic conditions are the most important information that nature tourists need to choose their destination. Moreover, one of tourism climatologists' goals is to identify different types of climates that affect tourism. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the relationship between climatic variables, climate-related indicators, and tourism in the most important tourist destinations of Astara, including Heyran mountain pass and Bibiyanlou forest park in terms of Tourism Climate Index (TCI) and Holiday Climate Index (HCI), using indices such as temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, cloud cover, and wind speed during a 15-year period (2005-2020). The results of the monthly survey of the TCI index showed that the region had a good rank in this regard in October (TCI = 65) and July (TCI = 69), a very good rank (TCI = 79) in May, and an excellent rank (TCI = 80) in June. Moreover, the results of the HCI showed that January and July had good ratings (with their HCI values being 69 and 65, respectively). The months of June and February (HCI = 75) had very good ranks, the months of May and April had excellent ranks (with their HCI values being 89 and 85, respectively), and the month of March had an ideal rank (HCI = 93). It was also found that in the early spring and summer (corresponding to the holiday season) when the climatic conditions were more favorable, the region was more visited by tourists. However, the region would probably be less welcomed by the tourists during the working and exam seasons. The results of the present study could be helpful in improving tourism activities based on climatic conditions, managing tourism in terms of providing the tourists with the required equipment and their needs during the tourism peaks, and providing for the required infrastructure to overcome the difficulties and attract tourists at other times. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

143 - Analysis of Tourism Research Papers in Iran
Mohsen Torabi mohammad reza fathi

10.52547/journalitor.36280.10.19.277

This applied library study sought to examine five Iranian research journals in the field of tourism from a methodological perspective. The population of the study comprised of all articles published from 2016 to 2020 in the aforementioned journals, including the Journal More

This applied library study sought to examine five Iranian research journals in the field of tourism from a methodological perspective. The population of the study comprised of all articles published from 2016 to 2020 in the aforementioned journals, including the Journal of Tourism and Development, Social Studies of Tourism Journal, Tourism planning and Development journal, Urban Tourism journal, and Tourism Management journal. No sampling was utilized, and all the components of the study's population were examined via the census. Accordingly, some 814 articles were examined in terms of the number of articles published per year, the research approach, the data analysis method, the data collection tools, data collection method, research area, the number of authors per article, the geographical areas studied, and the corresponding author's organizational affiliation and major. The findings showed that the largest number of published articles within the recent five editions belonged to the Journal of Tourism and Development and that most of the articles were focused on Iran's northern and central provinces. It was also found that researchers in the fields of geography and urban planning had great contributions to the articles published on the subject of tourism. Moreover, in terms of the corresponding author's affiliation, the greatest number of published articles belonged to Allameh Tabatabai University and Tehran University, respectively. Also, most of the published articles were descriptive-applied in terms of purpose and quantitative in terms of research method (structural equations), with 61% of them using a questionnaire to collect their required data. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

144 - Smartization of Iran's Tourism Industry: An emphasis on Social and Cultural Empowerment
Farnoush Zangouei Zahra Kharazi Mohammadvandi Azar Jamshid Salehi Sadaghiyani

10.52547/journalitor.36283.10.19.335

The main purpose of this article was to investigate the role of social and cultural empowerment in institutionalizing smart programs of Iran's tourism industry and identify the components of smart tourism in Iran's urban destinations. As a mixed-method research, this st More

The main purpose of this article was to investigate the role of social and cultural empowerment in institutionalizing smart programs of Iran's tourism industry and identify the components of smart tourism in Iran's urban destinations. As a mixed-method research, this study used contractual qualitative content analysis within its qualitative phase and a survey in its quantitative phase. As for the qualitative phase, 13 Iranian tourism managers were selected and interviewed through targeted and snowball sampling. Moreover, to conduct the quantitative phase, 390 travel agency experts were selected via convenience sampling, using Cochran's formula. The results of analyzing the data via structural equation modeling with the partial least squares approach showed that all observable and hidden variables were significant at the level of 0/05, all of which were confirmed. Furthermore, socio-cultural empowerment, smart governance, development of new smart technologies applications, and comprehensive smart tourism services were identified as components of the smart tourism industry in Iran. In addition, based on the Stone-Geisser index, the redundancy index of the social and cultural empowerment component was calculated to be 0/523 and based on its value in the final model (0/528), the strong predictive power of the model was confirmed. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

145 - Investigating the Factors Affecting the Local Community's Life Quality in Religious Tourism Destinations: A Case Study of Shiraz
Abbas Javidian

10.52547/journalitor.36284.10.19.369

Religious tourism has long been welcomed by many tourists and individuals, creating changes in the host community's quality of life through changing human interactions. Therefore, this descriptive survey study sought to identify and rank the factors involved in the loca More

Religious tourism has long been welcomed by many tourists and individuals, creating changes in the host community's quality of life through changing human interactions. Therefore, this descriptive survey study sought to identify and rank the factors involved in the local community's quality of life in Shiraz as a religious tourism destination using the fuzzy cognitive mapping approach. To this end, two types of statistical population groups were used. The first group comprised of experts in the field of religious tourism in Shiraz who were selected judiciously and purposefully to adjust and determine the intended factors. Then, a matrix questionnaire was administered to the second group which comprised thirty indigenous workers in the field of religious tourism. Then, the data and scenarios were analyzed using the fuzzy cognitive mapping technique, and the research model was designed using social network analysis. The results showed that there are several factors involved in improving the local community's quality of life in Shiraz, including increasing welfare, increasing investments, and a sense of belonging among residents and tourists, respectively. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

146 - Freedom, authenticity, intimacy and charm: Representation of travel influencers’ photos in Instagram
hoda davari hamed bakhshi

10.61186/journalitor.36488.11.24.171

Created on a social network basis, Instagram pages effectively contribute to shaping our mental perception regarding various topics. On the other hand, those Instagram pages dedicated to travel have highly been welcomed by viewers in recent years. Actually, the represen More

Created on a social network basis, Instagram pages effectively contribute to shaping our mental perception regarding various topics. On the other hand, those Instagram pages dedicated to travel have highly been welcomed by viewers in recent years. Actually, the representations made by the relevant influences concerning the travel process, travel destination, and travel meaning construct some explicit and implicit meanings. Therefore, this study sought to identify the semantic system governing the popular Instagram pages of travel influencers. The conceptual framework of the study is based on John Fisk's semiotic approach and his social reality codes, including social reality, representational reality, and ideological reality. Social reality codes address physical characteristics such as speech, environment, and clothing. Moreover, representational reality codes deal with the sender's creative power, including framing, colors, companionship and substitution, and characterization. Finally, ideological reality codes examine the concept that gives coherence to such categories. The findings of the study indicated that naturalism, intimacy, liberation in social relations and individual lifestyle, availability and ease of travel, charm-seeking, desire for freedom, travel as a lifestyle, and responsible travel are the pivotal values represented by travel influencers at the level of ideological codes, representing such a special type of tourism that seeks changes in daily routines, acquisition of new experiences, the quest for authenticity, and returning to the true self. This travel style represents a conscious or non-conscious effort against the homogenization of the modern world and a kind of resistance against daily routines, rationalization, and social order. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

147 - A Formal and Contentual Review of Pilgrimage and Religious Tourism Studies in Iran (2003-2021)
Neda Razavizadeh somaye varshoe

10.52547/journalitor.37470.11.22.93

Having a long-standing tradition in the Iranian and Shiite communities, pilgrimage and religious travels have considerably increased throughout the last two decades with a boom in tourism. In this regard, many studies have been carried out on different aspects of pilgri More

Having a long-standing tradition in the Iranian and Shiite communities, pilgrimage and religious travels have considerably increased throughout the last two decades with a boom in tourism. In this regard, many studies have been carried out on different aspects of pilgrimage, addressing both managerial aspects of the pilgrimage destinations and the experiences reported by the pilgrims. However, while several review articles have already been published in English-language journals on pilgrimage studies, no such article could be found in the Iranian -Persian academic journals concerning pilgrimage and religious trips made in Iran. Therefore, this article sought to examine the formal and contentual features of the Persian scientific-research papers on pilgrimage and religious tourism published in Iranian Journals, trying to identify the research gaps in this regard. To this end, the relevant articles published from 2003 to 2021 in Iranian journals accredited by Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology using a systematic review and content analysis method. Then, the features of the collected papers were examined in terms of spatial distribution, frequency, geographical distribution, authors’ characteristics (gender, frequency, and field of study), and methodology (research method, data sources, data collection tools, observation unit, sampling method, and statistical tests). Finally, the papers were categorized in terms of their relationship with the Parsons’ social systems, introducing the over-researched and under-researched areas and the research gaps in the Iranian pilgrimage and religious tourism studies so that new ideas and research topics be offered for novel studies and the development of knowledge in this regard. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

148 - Identifying the Factors Involved in Applying IoT to Smartening Tourism Destinations Using Future Studies Approach: A Case Study of Fars Province
Khadije Kaveh maryam nekooeezadeh Moslem Alimohammadlo

10.61186/journalitor.38331.12.25.31

Fars province is one of the main hubs of tourism centers in Iran. Therefore, paying special attention to tourism in the province and using Internet-of-things technology in its tourism management can provide suitable facilities for improving the welfare of its visiting t More

Fars province is one of the main hubs of tourism centers in Iran. Therefore, paying special attention to tourism in the province and using Internet-of-things technology in its tourism management can provide suitable facilities for improving the welfare of its visiting tourists, thus increasing the visiting rate of its tourist destinations. In this regard, the present study sought to predict and identify the most important factors involved in applying the Internet of Things technology to the Smartization of tourist destinations in Fars province and to develop feasible desirable future scenarios thereof. To this end, the required data for this applied study were collected by conducting interviews, administering questionnaires, and carrying out a systematic review of related literature. Finally, the collected data were analyzed by the Scenario Wizard software using the MICMAC method. The results of the MICMAC analysis revealed the main role of 14 key variables in the application of the Internet of Things technology to the Smartization of tourist destinations in Fars province. On the other hand, two strong scenarios, 1548 weak scenarios, and nine scenarios with high compatibility were obtained using the Scenario Wizard software. Accordingly, the study used the aforementioned nine high-compatibility scenarios, finding that the future of tourism in Fars province would be similar to the current circumstances. It was also found that the trend of changes in the status of tourism would be slow and that the chances of applying the Internet of Things technology to the province’s tourism destinations would be low. Finally, based on the obtained scenarios, the study proposed some strategies to achieve the desired results in smart tourism. Therefore, the results of the current study could help tourism professionals prepare the ground for the application of state-of-the-art technologies such as the Internet of Things to tourism and thus develop the field through setting long-term plans. Manuscript profile

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