Geography and Human Relationships

Geography and Human Relationships

Designing a Sports Tourism Marketing Model for the City of Ardabil

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohammadnoor Mohayya 1
Vahdat Eslami 2
Fatemeh Negahdari 3
Ruhollah Daei 4
1 Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Department of Sport Sciences, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
2 M.A. in Sports Management, Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas Branch, Bandar Abbas, Iran
4 Instructor, Department of Sport Sciences, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.
10.22034/gahr.2026.578570.2697
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to design a sports tourism marketing model for the city of Ardabil. In terms of nature, the research method was descriptive and correlational, and data collection was conducted through field surveys. The statistical population of this study included managers and experts of executive bodies related to the Tourism and Cultural Heritage Organization, activists and investors in the private sector, hoteliers, travel agencies, and sports tour guides. The statistical sample was selected from among the population members using the accessible sampling method (120 individuals). The research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire, whose face and content validity were confirmed by 12 professors of sports management and tourism, and its composite reliability was also approved through structural equation modeling. Data analysis was performed using statistical methods of frequency percentage, mean, convergent validity, divergent validity, composite reliability, and factor loading using PLS software version 4. The research findings indicated that the individual characteristics of tourism marketers, tourism resource management, tourism destination management, tourism brand management, tourism information technology management, and sustainable tourism development management play an effective role in the sports tourism marketing of Ardabil. Sports tourism development can serve as a key factor in creating job opportunities; accordingly, targeted planning and investment in these components can lead to the promotion of Ardabil's status and the attraction of more sports tourists.
Keywords
Tourism
Sports Tourism
Tourism Marketing
Subjects
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Geography and Human Relationships
Volume 9, Issue 2 - Serial Number 34
Summer 2026
Pages 964-976

  • Receive Date 15 March 2026
  • Revise Date 04 April 2026
  • Accept Date 10 May 2026