A Survey and Assessment of Urban Tourism Sites (Case Study: City of Urmia)

Since1970s، cities have witnessed reduced economic activities. This issue has led planners to think of new ways to enhance income and employment opportunities. Since 1980s، tourism strategies of cities have developed. Cities are now geographical areas where we can see concentration of population، ideas and cultures. They also play an important role in the political، economic، cultural activities. One of the basic functions of cities is to create pleasure and fun for their residents and tourists who visit them. Cities usually have some of the most important historical attractions such as palaces، squares، shrines and museums. In recent decades، in order to assess the efficiency of urban tourism، urban tourism sites have attempted to identify and evaluate them through various indicators of tourism. An important point in terms of planning is prioritizing the development and quality of life. Urmia is an ancient city with a history of 2،000 years. It has been known for a long time among different nations. It has been the center of many historical events. There is a highly diverse racial and ethnic pattern in the city; this is largely due to its climate and its beautiful nature. Ecotourism of Urmia is highly dependent on Urmia Lake. Lack of adequate income from tourism، and shortage of tourism infrastructure and lack of trained manpower are among issues that need to be addressed in order to assess tourism potentials of this city. The main purpose of this study is to detect the urban tourist sites of Urmia and an attempt to assess its potentials. Several descriptive-analytical methods were considered. Survey and documental methods were used for collecting data. And in order to assess the tourism of the city، first urban tourism sites were identified and finally، on the basis of the distribution، diversity of attractions، and the importance of the attractions twelve sites were selected. Masjed Ja’ameh، Bazaar، Moozeh، Borj She-Gonbad، Yakhchal Noh-peleh، Shahrbani Department، Park Allarbaghi، the 6000 people Salon، Khaneh Ansari and Madreseh Hedayat، Jahad Daneshgahi، Naneh Maryam church were among the sites that were included in this research. Eleven tourism criteria were selected in conducting this research. The criteria used were road accessibility، hotels، urban squares، green spaces، terminals، verity of attractions، attractiveness level، advertisements and service level، points of view and difference of landscapes. In conducting the final evaluation، the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for weighting the criteria and COPRAS method was used to prioritize tourist sites. In hierarchical method، the criteria weight was determined by paired comparisons of criteria by experts. COPRAS method is an assessment method for deciding the value of each site for every criterion ​​and the values of the criteria and their combination. To assess tourism potential in the city of Urmia، eleven tourism-related criteria were evaluated by 25 experts and officials with experience in urban tourism in Urmia city. Then، through surveys and interviews we were able to obtain the values of the sites. Then by COPRAS those combined weight criteria and final priority for tourism sites were obtained. Results showed that the criteria of tourism and service were more important than communication standards. According to the results of the survey، it was demonstrated that the Jaameh Mosque of Urmia، due to its historical and religious fabric and proximity to major residential centers، its historic attractiveness، and its proximity to numerous other attractive places، is the most suitable and most visited tourism site in the city of Urmia. Allarbaghy Park and Urmia Mall as well as some other sites were also identified in Urmia. Shahrbani، Naneh Maryam Church and Madreseh Hedayat are also suitable places that can prove important in the urban tourism development of the city of Urmia. The final analysis of the tourist sites of the city of Urmia show that Masjed Jameh، Allarbaghy Park and Bazaar are suitable tourist attractions in the city of Urmia. Naneh Maryam Church، Shahrbani and Madreseh Hedayat are other suitable tourist sites that need further attention.