The pattern of Development of Cross-Border Tourism in Free Trade Zones Case study: Qeshm Free Zone

The tourism industry, as the largest service industry in the world, is one of the important sources of economic prosperity (job creation, earning foreign exchange incomes, poverty reduction, etc.) and increasing social interaction and trade, etc. Therefore, areas such as islands and border ports that have good tourism potential, should choose the appropriate strategies to achieve the economic and socio-cultural benefits of the industry. The purpose of this study is to identify appropriate strategies for tourism development of Qeshm Free Trade Zone in order to increase tourists and consequently comprehensive development, elimination of deprivation of indigenous peoples and creating border security and sustainable income. The research method is descriptive-analytical and the statistical population is a group of experts, officials and tourists. In this study, the identified factors were prioritized and ranked by using of the SOAR technique and the SWARA multi-criteria decision-making model and the final value of a set of internal and external factors was determined to prioritize and adopt the best strategy. The results showed that among the SA strategies, the strategy of using cultural, marine and natural attractions to become the tourism hub of the region; among the SR strategy, the strategy of expanding tourist offices, setting up an information center and creating internet services in the region to introduce and promote tourism centers; among the OA strategies, the strategy of utilizing the strategic, geopolitical and geo-economics position of the region in order to develop tourism and introduce it as a tourism hub in the Middle East and among the OR strategies, the strategy of creating weekly markets and holding trans-regional exhibitions in order to introduce local and indigenous products and products of the region are considered as the most important strategies for the development of the tourism industry for the Qeshm Free Zone.