Journal of Tourism and Development

Journal of Tourism and Development

Identifying And Prioritizing Factors Affecting The Development Of Nature-Based Tourism With A Future Research Approach And The Best-Worst Criterion Method (Case Study: Yazd Province)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Reza Alizadeh 1
Khabat Derafshi 2
Arashk Masaeli 3
1 PhD Researcher of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Natural Heritage Department, Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Tourism Department, Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/jtd.2023.407721.2800
Abstract
Yazd province has a great potential for development through tourism due to the variety of unique natural attractions, such as: deserts, mountains and mines; Nature-based tourism, as a type of sustainable tourism, can play an important role in regional and national development. Therefore, the purpose of the current research, as a descriptive-analytical and field study, is to identify the key factors influencing the development of nature-based tourism in Yazd province. The method of data collection is library studies, and 15 professors and researchers in the field of tourism have been selected as experts by purposeful sampling (snowball method); Then, with the future research approach and using the structural analysis method and the advantages of Micmac software, the key factors affecting the development of nature-based tourism in Yazd province have been identified. Next, using the Best-Worst Method, the degree of importance of each of them was determined. Finally, nineteen factors were identified in six social, cultural, environmental, economic, managerial and physical dimensions. These factors in twelve cases (including: information technologies, government investment, non-government investment, education, quality of communication routes, local participation, modes of transportation, financial support of international organizations, tourism development planning, security, advertising and nature-based tourism attractions) with background The research is shared and it is different in seven cases (including: creating coordination and integration between related organizations, laws related to tourism development, protected areas, safety, providing government facilities to attract private investors, tourism and environmental air quality). It should be mentioned that according to this research, the most important and least important criteria are "nature-based tourism attractions" and "financial support of international organizations", respectively.
Keywords
Nature-based tourism
future studies
best-worst criteria
desert areas
 
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