tourism management
Morteza Bazrafshan; Hamid Zargham Borujeni; Mahdi Karobi
Abstract
Organizations are forced to adapt themselves to the ever-increasing advances in knowledge and technology in order to survive in this changing environment. They are to take fundamental measures and changes based on innovation, flexibility, responsiveness, creative redefinition of the market and new opportunities, ...
Read More
Organizations are forced to adapt themselves to the ever-increasing advances in knowledge and technology in order to survive in this changing environment. They are to take fundamental measures and changes based on innovation, flexibility, responsiveness, creative redefinition of the market and new opportunities, and resources to gain a competitive advantage. These changes are focused on effective use of the knowledge-based capital, which is achieved by creating a learning organization. This article is to present a model for transforming hotels into learning organizations. Therefore, by compiling interview questions based on theoretical literature and obtaining experts' opinions with thematic analysis method, indicators and factors of the learning hotel for the Iranian hotel industry is presented. The model is composed of 61 basic concepts, 11 organizing concepts, and 3 comprehensive concepts including the drivers, the factors, and the consequences of the learning hotel.
Tourism planning
Fatemeh Shekari
Abstract
Although the research on religious tourism experiences has increased in recent years, and given that most of the studies have been focused on the spiritual aspect of these experiences, there still needs to be more knowledge about the multiple attributes of religious tourists’ experiences. Therefore, ...
Read More
Although the research on religious tourism experiences has increased in recent years, and given that most of the studies have been focused on the spiritual aspect of these experiences, there still needs to be more knowledge about the multiple attributes of religious tourists’ experiences. Therefore, the current study aims to provide an “integrated and multifaceted conceptual framework of religious tourists’ experiences” using a systematic literature review and deductive thematic analysis. The search was conducted on June 12, 2023. The PRISMA procedure identified fifty-three relevant articles ranging from 2006 to 2022. Based on the findings, the multifaceted religious tourists’ experiences can include cognitive, emotional, physical, relational, recovery, spiritual, transformative, and behavioral facets. The findings can extend the literature and benefit managers, planners, and destination marketing organizations in designing religious tourism experiences to enhance visitors’ satisfaction and destination competitiveness.Introduction In the 21st century, religious tourism and pilgrimages are critical components of the travel and tourism market (Albayrak et al., 2018). Bibliometric studies reveal the exponential growth of religious tourism studies in the last decade. Due to religious tourism’s benefits, destinations need to understand religious tourists' experiences to enhance destination competitiveness and attract these tourists. However, religious tourism experience is an emerging topic in the literature (Collins-Kreiner, 2020), and scant studies have been conducted on this topic (Bond et al., 2015). Also, most of the research has focused on the spiritual aspect and ignored other aspects to a large extent. Meanwhile, managers of religious sites should offer a holistic experience that embraces spiritual and non-spiritual complementary aspects (Durán-Sánchez et al., 2018). Considering the importance of understanding the religious tourists' experience and the inadequate studies in this field, especially the lack of comprehensive frameworks that include multiple aspects of the religious tourists’ experiences (Kim et al., 2020), the present study has systematically reviewed the literature to provide an “integrated, multifaceted religious tourism experience conceptual framework” and extends literature in this field.Materials nd MethodsThe present research employed a systematic literature review. Scopus was chosen as the database as it is the largest multidisciplinary database in social sciences (Aria et al., 2020). Also, compared to the Web of Science, it has a broader coverage of tourism journals (Lin & Rasoolimanesh, 2022). The search was conducted on June 12, 2023. The PRISMA procedure identified fifty-three relevant articles ranging from 2006 to 2022. The deductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was done to determine the aspects and components of the religious tourists’ experience based on the “orchestra model” (Pearce & Mohammadi, 2021) and the “multifaceted conceptual framework of tourist experience” (Packer & Ballantyne, 2016).Discussion and ResultsBased on the findings, the “integrated, multifaceted framework of religious tourists’ experiences” includes cognitive, affective, physical, relational, restorative, spiritual, transformative, and behavioral facets, each includes the following aspects:Cognitive: reflection, learning or discovering, perceived authenticity, perception of setting attributes, mental engagement, and rememberingAffective: joy, awe or wonder, attachment, hope, pride, discontentPhysical: sensory engagement, bodily engagement, or challengeRelational: social interaction and sharing, communitasRestorative: peacefulness or relaxation, escape, nourishment, freedomSpiritual: spiritual connection, religiousness or closeness to God or sacred people, communion with nature, purificationTransformative: self-growth or fulfillment, liminality or flow, identity constructionBehavioral: religious site or ritual-specific (religious), non-religious (touristic) ConclusionsTheoretically, this research attempted to provide a multifaceted perspective of the religious tourists’ experience, employing a systematic literature review. Therefore, it has presented the most recent overview of the topic and identified the theories used, methodologies, study context, and experience attributes. By providing an “integrated, multifaceted conceptual framework of the religious tourist experience,” the present study contributes to extending the literature. This research used the existing frameworks to categorize the attributes of experience. It also added new facets and components. Three facets, namely restorative, spiritual, and transformative, can be added to the “orchestra model of tourist experience” (Pearce & Mohammadi, 2021). Also, the religious tourism-related components of communitas (relational), hope (affective), religiousness or closeness to God or sacred people, communion with nature, purification (spiritual), and liminality or flow (transformative) were added. Other components were also included that may be helpful to describe more general tourism experiences: perceived authenticity and mental engagement (cognitive), self-expression and social acceptance (relational), and identity construction (transformative). This framework needs to be more comprehensive, and future research may add other facets and components. The findings can extend the literature and benefit managers, planners, and destination marketing organizations in designing religious tourism experiences to enhance visitors' satisfaction and destination competitiveness. Finally, study limitations and future research directions are proposed, including cross-cultural studies to compare results and enhance the generalizability of the findings, examining the proposed framework in various religious destinations contexts, paying more attention to Muslim religious tourists’ experiences, considering the role of information and communication technologies, and investigating the interactions of the framework components.
tourism management
Morteza Ahmadi; Mahmood Ziaee; Reza Vaezi; Gholamreza Kazemian
Abstract
This research has been achieved to recognize the type of dominant rationality in the Vision Plan of Heritage and Tourism Development in Iran. The tourism planning system in the world has experienced noticeable changes under the influence of transformations that took place in the philosophical and social ...
Read More
This research has been achieved to recognize the type of dominant rationality in the Vision Plan of Heritage and Tourism Development in Iran. The tourism planning system in the world has experienced noticeable changes under the influence of transformations that took place in the philosophical and social paradigms in recent decades. The present research is based on interpretive epistemology and, regarding the methodological aspect, has been considered qualitative research. Archival studies and thematic analysis with explorative purpose were used for data gathering and analysis. Base on this study’s findings, instrumental rationality, with 48 themes out of 71 and its correspondent planning theory, rational planning, has been dominant in formulating the Vision Plan of Heritage and Tourism Development in Iran. Also, we observed a small share of other types of rationality among the themes recognized in the Vision Plan. Analysis and comparison of the share for each type of rationality made it clear that coordinative rationality has been ignored. Therefore, revising the Vision Plan regarding new approaches to tourism planning is inevitable. The research results indicated that applying coordinative rationality as a combination of various rationality types could pave the way for achieving tourism development objectives in Iran.Introduction Tourism planning has been transformed by theories such as communicative and participative approaches and paradigms dominating urban, rural, and regional planning. The emergence of alternative and sustainable tourism can signify these changes. This research aimed to recognize the type of dominant rationality on the Vision Plan-2025 for Heritage and Tourism Development in Iran endorsed by the Cabinet in 2004. The concept of rationality in this research is considered in the Alexander Model (2000) framework and based on new planning theories and contemporary tourism planning approaches. In the new age, called the post-rationality era, rationality in planning was redefined so that its meaning extended from instrumental rationality to include communicative, strategic, and coordinative rationality. Dominant planning approaches in the 1950s were physical and sectoral planning based on the traditional rational planning approach. Since the 1960s, the domain of planning extended to social-cultural areas and the concept of space, including human beings, their living environment, and economic, social, and cultural activities taken into account in planning. In the 1980s, a new approach to planning appeared that did not believe in top-down planning but believed in the host community's participation in planning and implementation.Materials and MethodsThe philosophical aspect of this research regarding epistemology was based on an interpretive approach. Understanding tourism and planning for tourism development requires understanding the multiple dimensions of tourism regarding social-cultural and economic aspects and interpreting the concept of the system for tourism stakeholders as well as policymakers. Considering the users, the research is applied and developmental research. The findings of this study can be used by tourism policymakers, planners, stakeholders, the scientific society, and researchers. The research area is cross-sectional, and the scale is national. This qualitative research's statistical population and data sources are the documents of mentioned Vision Plan. Data gathering and analysis were conducted following the qualitative research. This study used the Astrid-Sterling model of themes networks for thematic analysis. The researchers took five steps for coding and recognized basic themes, main themes, organizing themes, and global themes. Finally, a map of themes in the format of themes network of rationality in the Vision Plan was presented.Discussion and ResultsThe results of the literature review clarified two issues. Firstly, under the influence of planning theory and dominant paradigms on urban, rural, and regional planning, tourism development planning has changed in recent decades, leading to the emergence of alternative tourism approaches like responsible tourism, eco-tourism, community-based tourism, and sustainable tourism. Secondly, reconsidering the concept and dimensions of rationality in the recent century has a vital role in planning theory in such a way that the type of rationality in each era has been determinative of identifying the type of planning theory. For further explanation, we can refer to communicative rationality recognized in the 1980s by Habermas, considered the foundation of communicative planning theory. This approach was the reaction against instrumental rationality that was the basis for traditional rational planning theory. Therefore, the type of rationality is the determinant for the corresponding planning theory. Analysis of a total of 71 themes in the Vision Plan for Tourism Development in Iran indicated the share for each type of rationality, which included 48 themes (the maximum) related to instrumental rationality, ten themes to communicative rationality, nine themes to strategic rationality, and finally, four themes (the minimum) to coordinative rationality.ConclusionsWith the analysis and comparison of the share of various types of rationality in the Vision Plan of cultural heritage and tourism in Iran, we concluded that the dominant rationality for formulating the Plan had been instrumental. Regarding the lack of consideration for all types of rationality, particularly coordinative rationality in the Plan on the one hand, and the fact that more than 18 years have passed since the compilation of the Plan on the other hand, it is necessary to revise the Vision Plan, taking into accounts the coordinative planning theory in the following areas:- Establishment of a powerful coordinating institution with sufficient authority for making the related organizations cooperate in revising, formulating, implementing, supervising, and evaluating the Plan.- Integration of tourism policies and plans and linkage with the macro policies. Formulation and endorsement of tourism macro policies through the Supreme Council for Cultural Heritage and Tourism. -Formulation of a network for public-private participation and related stakeholders for developing tourism in Iran.
Zohreh Dehdashti; Vahid Nasehifar; Esmaeil Ghaderi; Afra Shoaran
Abstract
AbstractWith the advent of the sharing economy, peer-to-peer accommodations around the world have had much success. These accommodations offer benefits such as low prices and a variety of services. One of the ways that tourist-friendly countries have exploited the potential of these accommodations and ...
Read More
AbstractWith the advent of the sharing economy, peer-to-peer accommodations around the world have had much success. These accommodations offer benefits such as low prices and a variety of services. One of the ways that tourist-friendly countries have exploited the potential of these accommodations and can help these accommodations to operate more successfully is to use the potential of tourist co-creation. On the other hand, in recent years, special attention has been paid to the consumption experience in the hospitality industry. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to present a new model using related literature, including the dimensions, determinants, and consequences of the co-creation experience of tourists in peer-to-peer accommodations. For this purpose, the seven-step meta-synthesis method established by Sandelowski and Barroso was used. Sixty-three qualitative articles were identified and analyzed using the thematic analysis method. The results identified the six dimensions of control, learning, connection, personalization, authenticity, and autonomy as dimensions of the co-creation experience. Also, factors related to the host, factors related to the customer, factors related to other customers and the local community, factors related to technology, and factors related to the accommodation were identified as determinants and variables of functional value, cost value, social value, and experiential value were identified as consequences.IntroductionThe country's hospitality industry is severely short of hotels. Many hotels are of low quality and demand high prices because there are no subsidies for hotels, and they are not occupied in all seasons. Also, the complex process of obtaining a construction permit, lack of necessary facilities, and payment of taxes and duties make the return of capital difficult and have reduced the motivation and desire of investors to build a hotel. In addition, hotels do not meet the needs of tourists to socialize and gain experience of local life due to their many restrictions and standard products. Given these problems of hotels and the high need for investment in hotels, and the limited government budget for investment, it is inevitable to use other methods to create accommodation facilities. One is to convert houses or part of houses into accommodation at a meager cost for the private sector or the government. The main problem with these accommodations in our country is that the owners of these accommodations, who are non-professionals and have yet to receive the necessary training, sometimes provide hospitality services in addition to their main job to earn more money, with new ways to satisfy tourists. One of how tourist-friendly countries have solved this problem and can help these resorts to operate more successfully is by taking advantage of the potential of tourist co-creation.On the other hand, in recent years, special attention has been paid to the consumption experience in the tourism industry. Recent research results emphasize the role of tourists in creating new and creative ideas for the growth of the tourism market. In Iran, however, this vital factor, unlike other tourist countries in the world, is not seen as a strategic opportunity for growth. Therefore, this research modeled the customer co-creation experience in peer-to-peer accommodations.Materials and MethodsThis research used the meta-synthesis method to synthesize previous qualitative studies. In this study, the seven-step meta-synthesis method established by Sandelowski and Barroso was used, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the sample texts in the meta-synthesis method.Discussion and ResultsSix dimensions of control, learning, connection, personalization, authenticity, and autonomy were identified as dimensions of the co-creation experience. Also, variables of host-related factors, customer-related factors, factors related to other customers and the local community, technology-related factors, and accommodation-related factors were identified as determinants of the co-creation experience—moreover, functional value, cost value, social value, and experiential value as consequences.ConclusionsThe control dimension is one of the dimensions of the co-creation experience resulting from meta-synthesis analysis. The theoretical basis behind this result is the theory of self-efficacy. Customers participate in the co-creation process because they expect to increase self-efficacy. Another dimension of the co-creation experience is personalization. The theoretical foundations behind this result are theories of self-efficacy and self-image. Control affects all aspects of human interaction, so customers' search for a personalized online environment can be driven by their desire for control, and self-expression is an essential motivator for individuals to create. The learning dimension is another dimension of co-creation. The theoretical foundations behind this result are active and experiential learning theories. Theoretical foundations behind the concept of authenticity, as one of the dimensions of the co-creation experience, are existential authenticity and self-determination theories. While existential authenticity is a way in which tourists create their own identity to experience a more authentic sense of self by creating holiday activities, according to the theory of self-determination, intrinsically motivated behaviors are not alien and are original because they are self-determined. Connection means customers' access to information and social relationships with actors involved in the consumption experience. According to the self-determination theory, the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and connection are the basis of the logic of behaviors. The last dimension is autonomy. According to the self-determination theory, autonomy refers to a person's sense of freedom and emphasizes intrinsic motivation. Unlike the traditional consumption process, co-creation involves autonomous activities with different actors.IntroductionThe country's hospitality industry is severely short of hotels. Many hotels are of low quality and demand high prices because there are no subsidies for hotels, and they are not occupied in all seasons. Also, the complex process of obtaining a construction permit, lack of necessary facilities, and payment of taxes and duties make the return of capital difficult and have reduced the motivation and desire of investors to build a hotel. In addition, hotels do not meet the needs of tourists to socialize and gain experience of local life due to their many restrictions and standard products. Given these problems of hotels and the high need for investment in hotels, and the limited government budget for investment, it is inevitable to use other methods to create accommodation facilities. One is to convert houses or part of houses into accommodation at a meager cost for the private sector or the government. The main problem with these accommodations in our country is that the owners of these accommodations, who are non-professionals and have yet to receive the necessary training, sometimes provide hospitality services in addition to their main job to earn more money, with new ways to satisfy tourists. One of how tourist-friendly countries have solved this problem and can help these resorts to operate more successfully is by taking advantage of the potential of tourist co-creation.On the other hand, in recent years, special attention has been paid to the consumption experience in the tourism industry. Recent research results emphasize the role of tourists in creating new and creative ideas for the growth of the tourism market. In Iran, however, this vital factor, unlike other tourist countries in the world, is not seen as a strategic opportunity for growth. Therefore, this research modeled the customer co-creation experience in peer-to-peer accommodations.Materials and MethodsThis research used the meta-synthesis method to synthesize previous qualitative studies. In this study, the seven-step meta-synthesis method established by Sandelowski and Barroso was used, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the sample texts in the meta-synthesis method.Discussion and ResultsSix dimensions of control, learning, connection, personalization, authenticity, and autonomy were identified as dimensions of the co-creation experience. Also, variables of host-related factors, customer-related factors, factors related to other customers and the local community, technology-related factors, and accommodation-related factors were identified as determinants of the co-creation experience—moreover, functional value, cost value, social value, and experiential value as consequences.ConclusionsThe control dimension is one of the dimensions of the co-creation experience resulting from meta-synthesis analysis. The theoretical basis behind this result is the theory of self-efficacy. Customers participate in the co-creation process because they expect to increase self-efficacy. Another dimension of the co-creation experience is personalization. The theoretical foundations behind this result are theories of self-efficacy and self-image. Control affects all aspects of human interaction, so customers' search for a personalized online environment can be driven by their desire for control, and self-expression is an essential motivator for individuals to create. The learning dimension is another dimension of co-creation. The theoretical foundations behind this result are active and experiential learning theories. Theoretical foundations behind the concept of authenticity, as one of the dimensions of the co-creation experience, are existential authenticity and self-determination theories. While existential authenticity is a way in which tourists create their own identity to experience a more authentic sense of self by creating holiday activities, according to the theory of self-determination, intrinsically motivated behaviors are not alien and are original because they are self-determined. Connection means customers' access to information and social relationships with actors involved in the consumption experience. According to the self-determination theory, the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and connection are the basis of the logic of behaviors. The last dimension is autonomy. According to the self-determination theory, autonomy refers to a person's sense of freedom and emphasizes intrinsic motivation. Unlike the traditional consumption process, co-creation involves autonomous activities with different actors.
Ahmad Hajarian
Abstract
Tourism development is increasingly considered essential in promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and promoting food security. From the sustainable development point of view, tourism is a reliable source in many countries that can have an increasing effect on growing income at the national and ...
Read More
Tourism development is increasingly considered essential in promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and promoting food security. From the sustainable development point of view, tourism is a reliable source in many countries that can have an increasing effect on growing income at the national and local level, as well as advancing social opportunities and transforming and expanding production while preserving the interests of future generations. In the sustainable livelihood approach, to solve this problem and increase the assets of the local people, the diversification of the economic activities of the villages is emphasized a lot. Because the more diverse the economy of the villages is, by creating more opportunities and taking advantage of the capabilities, the more villagers will have access to the standards of life. With over 22,000 historical and natural buildings and monuments, 1,850 of which have been registered nationally and seven of them globally, Isfahan province is the focus of foreign and domestic tourists. There are over 600 historical monuments in Isfahan province, and more than half are in rural areas. On the other hand, in the past years, with the expansion of communication routes, as well as the increase in trips and the increase in the number of tourists in the rural areas of this province, it has witnessed the development of tourism. However, the question is whether this development is sustainable. Undoubtedly, there are obstacles and challenges facing sustainable tourism on this path, and knowing these obstacles helps the growth and development of sustainable tourism. Therefore, the critical problem of the current research is to identify the obstacles and challenges facing sustainable tourism development in the studied region.Materials and MethodsThe research data has been obtained through semi-structured in-depth targeted interviews with 20 local managers, investors, and local residents with expertise. According to theoretical saturation with deep analysis and the adequacy of the codes acquired and also found, new concepts were used in the subsequent interviews with the help of independent coders. The primary research tool is the interview.Discussion and ResultsThe data obtained from the interviews were analyzed by the thematic analysis method. The main themes were identified to analyze the obstacles and challenges of sustainable rural tourism. Based on the data's thematic analysis, 29 basic concepts have been identified that form the basis of the research model. These concepts were divided into seven categories, including policy, infrastructural, organizational, economic, social, environmental, and physical quality, as organizing themes of the research topic. ConclusionsIn this research, according to the themes extracted, the category of sustainable tourism development is a concept that can cover other categories and has an analysis aspect. The interviewees admitted that if policy obstacles are removed in sustainable tourism development, planning, projects, administrative activities, and so on., they will have successful results, and its positive effects will be manifested. People living in the village who use its resources and their life and ways of livelihood are based on the realities and entities of the place. Therefore, it is inevitable to consider all the effective aspects of sustainable tourism, especially management and marketing and the participation of local communities. Due to the phenomenon of sustainable tourism development, it is considered the primary factor and central core of the theme analysis model.Another point that should be noted is that sustainable tourism development is a multi-stakeholder process that includes all stakeholders. All stakeholders should participate in identifying problems and resources of interest in developing and implementing related plans with strategies that bring social and economic sustainability. With the development of sustainable tourism, one can see its consequences, such as "reducing the migration of local people to the city," "empowering local people," "reducing social harm," and "increasing the level of participation and sense of responsibility and cooperation among residents." "Improving the educational situation," "Improving the population structure," "Reducing the dependence of local people on credits and facilities and government assistance such as subsidies," "Upgrading the infrastructure of tourism and tourism industry," "Rural growth and development," "Improving livelihood local people," "Increasing the quality of products," "Improving economic well-being" and "Moving on the path of sustainable development."
Ali asghar Mobasheri; Fatemeh Shekari; Moslem Bagheri; Zahra Moaven; Mehrdad Kiani
Abstract
Introduction
Ecotourism can serve as one of the effective strategies for economic, social, and environmental development of destinations. Nowadays, many policies aim to develop ecotourism and utilize its benefits, especially in the developing countries with rich natural resources. Iran is one of the ...
Read More
Introduction
Ecotourism can serve as one of the effective strategies for economic, social, and environmental development of destinations. Nowadays, many policies aim to develop ecotourism and utilize its benefits, especially in the developing countries with rich natural resources. Iran is one of the countries with considerable potential for ecotourism development. However, there is no consistent plan to use the county’s potentialities in this respect. It is thus necessary to take serious measures to develop ecotourism and utilize Iran’s natural resources optimally. This study aims to propose a model of ecotourism development in Iran.
Materials and Methods
The present study relies on a mixed methods research design. Concerning the qualitative aspect, practitioners and experts were interviewed to extract the elements of the model. Then the data was analyzed through the method of thematic analysis. In the quantitative part, the dimensions and strategies were arranged into a questionnaire and were ranked by the tourism experts in Iran. Finally, the method of hesitant fuzzy sets was employed to analyze the data.
Results and Discussion
According to the results, the most important ecotourism development dimensions in Iran can be enumerated in order of importance as follows: management, infrastructure development, marketing and training, and human resource development. Moreover, the key ecotourism development strategies, in order of importance, are as follows: carrying out marketing activities to increase the market share of ecotourism, diversifying Iran’s ecotourism products, improving the access roads to tourism villages, and increasing the destination’s resilience to natural disasters.
Conclusion
Exploring the underlying conditions in Iran, this study proposed a model of ecotourism development in Iran as a potential destination for ecotourism. The findings can offer practical and scientific guidelines to managers and policymakers who seek to develop ecotourism in Iran.
tourism management
Mehdi Karoubi; Fatemeh Yavari Gohar; seyed mojtaba mahmoudzadeh; Nasim Mohammadian Mahmoudjigh
Abstract
In recent years, some countries and destinations have used brands to describe themselves, in a way that "tourism nation branding" has become one of the main focuses of tourism marketing studies. On the other hand, tourism development depends more on tourism policy-making than the known underlying factors, ...
Read More
In recent years, some countries and destinations have used brands to describe themselves, in a way that "tourism nation branding" has become one of the main focuses of tourism marketing studies. On the other hand, tourism development depends more on tourism policy-making than the known underlying factors, which imply the determination of governments to develop this industry, and it reflects in high-scale documents and laws as well as in monitoring their proper implementation. This study analyzes the branding approach in macro policies of tourism in Iran. The research is descriptive-analytical and qualitative. After reviewing the research background, tourism nation branding policies were extracted from the content of the selected documents by thematic analysis. Then 243 primary codes were categorized into 62 basic themes, 21 organizing themes, and four global themes entitled (1)Nation tourism branding, (2)Components, (3)Effects, and (4)Factors affecting it. Finally, the thematic network was drawn, and the results were interpreted. According to the findings, not only the specialized indicators of tourism nation branding but also the primary indicators of policy-making have been ignored. At the top of them are a lack of systematization, a lack of stability and integrity, and a lack of guidance on implementing decisions.IntroductionIt seems that an essential part of the challenge of not paying attention to tourism branding can be found in macro tourism policies and policy-makers' lack of attention to integrating tourism development and marketing measures through branding. Therefore, the present study is designed in response to this question of whether the branding approach can be discovered in macro tourism policies? So we can explain the situation of tourism branding in the macro perspectives of the country to identify gaps and fundamental shortcomings of the Iranian policy system in this field.In addition, a comparison of credible reports related to the national brand with tourism reports (before the Covid-19 epidemic) shows that 7 out of the top 10 countries in the NBI index presented in 2019 were among the top tourist destinations in the world (in terms of tourist attraction and income) in the same year, which was published in the report of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) entitled Tourism Highlights 2020.Materials and MethodsThe present study aimed to analyze the policies of different parts of the tourism nation branding in basic and large-scale documents, using thematic analysis. Then, the themes related to tourism branding were extracted. For this purpose, the basic (specific to tourism) and large-scale (macro) laws, documents, programs, and regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran related to the field of tourism were identified (21 documents). Considering that the Iranian tourism industry has been influenced by the political institution more than anything else, the documents after the Islamic Revolution of Iran have been introduced and examined in this study. Then, based on the Attride-Stirling method, the coding was performed to identify basic themes (codes and points of the text), organizing themes (combining and summarizing basic themes), and global themes (governing the whole text) to form a thematic network. This research is descriptive-analytical and qualitative (in terms of the nature of the data).Discussion and ResultsThe first step- parsing the text: first, the content of the documents was studied independently by the researchers, and the irrelevant or unuseful information was removed. Then, by separating the useful and related points, for example, the related content to tourism, branding, and its dimensions (explicitly or implicitly), the coding process began, and the basic themes were identified based on the initial codes.The second step- interpreting the text and drawing the thematic network: In the next step, 243 initial codes were identified after reviewing the basic themes and ensuring the method of classification, naming, and adapting them to the original codes. Then, the primary codes were categorized into 62 basic themes, 21 organizing themes, and four global themes entitled (1) Nation tourism branding, (2) Components, (3) Effects, and (4) Factors affecting it. Finally, the thematic network was drawn, and the results were interpreted.ConclusionsAs confirmed in the present study, despite the importance of the tourism industry as an economic sector in the world, tourism nation branding has received little attention from policy-makers and the planning system in Iran. So that, only designing a random logo and slogan has been considered. Even designing and implementing a promotional program (albeit short-term) did not matter much for the same logo. In this regard, contrary to the consensus of researchers on the process of place branding and destinations branding, such an approach can not be traced in the selected documents, which shows the lack of importance of tourism branding in the field of public policy and tourism policy. The findings of this study are in line with the research literature. However, there are many obstacles along the way. According to the findings, it seems that given the current situation and the incomprehensible position of tourism nation branding in public policy, Iran is not currently ready to develop a purposeful and coherent tourism nation brand in the long run.
Ali Asghar Shalbafian
Abstract
Strategic alliances have come to prove instrumental across various industries owing to rapidly evolving and competitive world. Partner selection plays core and key role in any strategic alliance formation and its outcome. Though voluminous studies targeted partner selection in general, the subject has ...
Read More
Strategic alliances have come to prove instrumental across various industries owing to rapidly evolving and competitive world. Partner selection plays core and key role in any strategic alliance formation and its outcome. Though voluminous studies targeted partner selection in general, the subject has rarely investigated in tourism industry particularly in the context of a tourism type i.e. medical tourism and a specified market i.e. Iran. To this end, 17 medical tourism experts have been recognized by snowball sampling. Data have been gathered through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with Maxqda 10 software based on theme analysis. Findings show that 3 main themes including prior relation and cognition, probing about partner and partner characteristics can affect on medical tourism alliance formation in Iran.
Hamid Masoudi; Mohsen Noghani; Hossein Behravan
Abstract
The sociological analysis of marriage tourism among young Iranian couples is the purpose of this study. Lack of proper understanding of the causes, processes, and consequences of this type of tourism is an issue that is pursued in this study. The approach of the present research is qualitative and the ...
Read More
The sociological analysis of marriage tourism among young Iranian couples is the purpose of this study. Lack of proper understanding of the causes, processes, and consequences of this type of tourism is an issue that is pursued in this study. The approach of the present research is qualitative and the method of data collection and analysis is content analysis. Findings show that honeymoon travel is the most important type of marriage tourism in Iran. This trip is to natural and religious destinations. And the quality of appropriate, diverse and accessible services, family support and individual motivations such as vitality, empowerment, avoidance of restrictions and major advertising are the reasons for this type of tourism. Marriage is a cultural event that has become one of the main tourism axes today. Important cities of Iran such as Mashhad, Kish, and Isfahan on the one hand and foreign countries, on the other hand, are the destinations of marriage tourism. Family travel, without the presence of outsiders and at a considerable cost, forms part of the process of this type of tourism. The major implications are the receiving of psychological, social and family feedback on the one hand and the tendency to travel more on the other. The present study has attempted to analyze the issue of marriage tourism from different aspects.
Reza Vaezi; maysam Chekin; Hosein Aslipour
Abstract
Paying attention to policy-making in local sustainable development, will not only strengthen national endogenous economic growth, but also increase employment rates and GDP particularly in the public service sector. In spite of the efforts made in recent years, health tourism has not yet been well placed ...
Read More
Paying attention to policy-making in local sustainable development, will not only strengthen national endogenous economic growth, but also increase employment rates and GDP particularly in the public service sector. In spite of the efforts made in recent years, health tourism has not yet been well placed in the institutional structure of the country and the existing regulations, and it is far from the objective set forth in the vision document, which is to make Iran the first in the field of health tourism among the countries of the region. However, in development programs, the government has always been required, based on its planning, to provide a significant part of the health and medical needs of the country through the export of goods, medical services, and health tourism. The present research tries to answer the following questions by adopting a qualitative approach based on the thematic analysis method, which seeks out the output of the basic, organizing, and inclusive themes related to the research question. The problem is that health tourism in the country faces what challenges in the field of legislation and implementation? What measures did institutions responsible for promoting and developing this sector of the economy take? What challenges and requirements do the experience of successful countries in this field remind us? Research findings indicate that policy-making challenges in this area are divided into four sections: economic challenges, socio-cultural challenges, political challenges and administrative challenges. Among them, in order to promote health tourism status, attention to political and administrative challenges in the policies development phase is more important.
