Reviwing and Rating the Role of Mass Media in Development of Sport Tourism in Tabriz City

Regarding the importance of media in development of sport tourism industry, this research has been conducted with the aim of reviwing and rating the role of mass media in development of sport tourism in Tabriz. The statistical population of this study was the managers and experts of sports, tourism, cultural heritage and sports media in Tabriz city (N= 300). Total population sampling was used
and 230 questionnaires were examined. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. After validation by a number of sports and tourism management experts,they were distributed among 30 subjects and its reliability was reported (α = 0.86). Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Friedman's rank test by  SPSS24 software.
Findings of the research showed that mass media had most effect in "human resource training" with an average rating of 4.39 and "identifying environmental capacities and capabilities" had the lowest effect with average rating of 3.78. Also, among all mass media, television, Internet and modern media had most effect on the development of sport tourism in Tabriz city.According to research findings, television, the Internet and the modern media have  key role in the components of sport tourism development, therefore, it is suggested to provide a proper situation for more and more attendance of tourists in sports events.