In recent years, facilitative policies in the tourism industry have drawn growing attention from countries worldwide, with organizations such as the World Tourism Organization publishing reports on the topic. One of the most prominent of these is the visa waiver policy aimed at increasing inbound tourism. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts has proposed various visa waiver initiatives in recent years. However, the absence of comprehensive studies has raised doubts about the policy’s effectiveness. This qualitative study, based on Strauss and Corbin’s systematic grounded theory approach, identifies the key factors influencing the effectiveness of Iran’s visa waiver policy in tourism development. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with tourism policy experts and analyzed accordingly. A total of 449 open codes were extracted and categorized into causal, contextual, intervening, strategic, and consequential factors. The findings show that strategic and intervening factors have the most significant impact on the policy’s success. Major obstacles include poor inter-sectoral coordination, lack of cross-sectoral perspectives, limited international engagement, and inadequate policy support infrastructure. Conversely, critical enablers include enhanced strategic tourism planning, strengthened legal and regulatory capacities, and empowered human capital. The study ultimately offers recommendations for effective implementation, emphasizing the removal of structural barriers, development of complementary strategies, and institutional alignment.