Barriers to tourism policy in the Islamic Republic of Iran: conceptual framework

Studies on tourism policy implementation, especially within the public policy framework of developing countries, have been conducted very narrowly, and often between the tendency to develop tourism (policy-making) and the translation of this tendency to take action in the actual context (policy implementation) has the structural and conditional gap. The main mission of this study is to provide a pattern that can be used to fill such a gap and to effectively implement tourism policy in the Iranian context. The exploratory research method is applied, the philosophical paradigm is social constructionism, and the qualitative research strategy of grounded theory is used to develop the theory. The statistical population of the study included all key stakeholders related to tourism development in Iran. Therefore, a purposive sampling method and 38 individuals were selected for in-depth face-to-face interviews. As a result of the research, 6 main and 31 sub-categories were identified and explained, which provided the basis for a paradigmatic model of tourism policy implementation in Iran. The most important contribution of this research is to provide a conceptual model for enhancing the executive knowledge of tourism managers and policy makers about the prerequisites and requirements for implementing tourism programs and policies.