Evaluation of Destination Tourism Development in Sustainability Framework in West Azarbaijan Province of Iran

Kazemiyeh, Fatemeh; Abdi, Sohyla; Raheli, Hossein

doi:10.22034/gahr.2024.455560.2139

Evaluation of Destination Tourism Development in Sustainability Framework in West Azarbaijan Province of Iran

Document Type : thesis

Authors

Fatemeh Kazemiyeh ¹

sohyla abdi ²

hossein raheli ³

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

² MSc of Rural Development Department, Dept. of Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture University of Tabriz, Iran

³ Professor Dept. of Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz

10.22034/gahr.2024.455560.2139

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the sustainability of the tourist villages of West Azerbaijan Province in Iran according to the effective dimensions and indicators in sustainable rural tourism development. In this study, a barometer of sustainability and a radar (amoeba) chart are utilized to evaluate how much the studied villages of West Azerbaijan province in Iran progress towards sustainable tourism. To assess the sustainability of rural tourism in the studied villages, 95 indicators appropriate to the villages' structure studied and compatible with the rural environment, are obtained. To provide a suitable strategy for sustainable tourism development, a SWOT matrix is used. The statistical population includes the heads of households in four tourist villages in West Azerbaijan, Iran (N = 1160). The sample size was estimated to be 290 according to the Krejcie and Morgan Table. The results show that the socio-cultural and economic dimensions are more sustainable than the environmental dimensions and also, the tourist villages of West Azerbaijan province have moderate sustainability. The internal and external factors evaluation matrices indicate that the final scores of 2.86 and 2.475 obtained for the internal and external factors of rural tourism, respectively, are in quadrant 4 of the strategic position and action evaluation matrix (SPACE), so, the most suitable strategy for rural tourism development in the study villages is a competitive one.

The results indicate that the final averages obtained for internal and external factors are in quadrant 4 of the strategic position and action evaluation matrix. So, the appropriate strategy for rural tourism development in the study areas is S-T strategies.

Keywords

Development

Rural Tourism

Strategy

Sustainability

SWOT Analysis

Subjects

tourism

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