An investigation of the Factors Affecting Iranian Tourism Development

In this paper, a quantitative-qualitative methodology has been used through the Futures Study approach in order to identify the factors affecting tourism development in Iran. Four main steps have been taken to this end. These steps are: (1) extracting factors from written sources, (2) holding expert panels to analyze factors, (3) identifying interactions between factors by experts, and (4) software analysis to determine factor interactions. The findings of this study show that "statistics and information" and "zoning" are factors affecting tourism development and "organization" and "management" have a regulatory role in tourism development. In order to achieve a balanced development in the field of tourism and carry out zoning and determining the capability of each area of the country in the field of tourism at different national and international scales, statistics and information should be updated and efficient. Accordingly, serious attention to management structures and, if necessary, their modification and improvement can help Iran develop its tourism industry.