Geography and Human Relationships

Geography and Human Relationships

Providing a policy model for developing the sports tourism model of East Azerbaijan Province

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD in Sports Management, Cultural Policy Researcher, and Teacher at the Ministry of Education, District 1 of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
2 PhD in Sports Management, Department of Motor Behavior and Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Urmia, Urmia, Iran.
3 Master of Science in Sports Sciences, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Payame Noor University of Karaj, Karaj, Iran.
10.22034/gahr.2026.582796.2739
Abstract
The aim of this study was to present a policy model for developing the sports tourism model of East Azerbaijan Province with a qualitative approach. The method of this study is a qualitative research with a future research approach. The statistical population of this study was tourism and sports policy experts, including managers and experts of the Sports and Youth Organization and the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, the Federation of Public Sports, staff managers of the General Directorate of Sports and Youth, professors and experts in sports and tourism management in the country, and the statistical sample was selected from among the members of the community using the purposive and snowball sampling methods. The research tool was a semi-structured interview with 12 research experts that continued until the theoretical saturation stage. The validity of the research was confirmed by the relevant experts and the reliability of the research was achieved by using the intra-subject agreement method of 75%. The results showed that the key factors affecting the development of sports tourism in East Azerbaijan Province are: infrastructure and facilities, cultural factors, social factors, economic factors, management factors, environmental factors, new technologies factors, satisfaction factors, branding, tourism institutions and organizations, tourism policy-making, and national and international agencies; Based on this, it can be concluded that tourism institutions and organizations and economic factors that act as regulatory variables and sometimes as secondary levers and act as they should and perhaps should in the development of sports tourism in East Azerbaijan Province have not been active and have played a minor role.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 30 May 2026

  • Receive Date 23 May 2026
  • Revise Date 29 May 2026
  • Accept Date 30 May 2026