Investigation of Factors Affecting Sport Tourism Development in Lorestan Province (with Emphasis on Sports Natural Attractions)

The development of sport-based tourism in each region boosts tourism and consequently, promotes economic, social and cultural development. In this paper, firstly, the factors affecting the development of sport tourism in Lorestan province with emphasis on sport's natural attractions are identified. In the next stage, these factors are prioritized for the steps necessary to successfully implement the strategies. The research method is descriptive-analytic. The research sample is a total of 120 people. To achieve the research goals, a researcher-made questionnaire on sports tourism development factors (with emphasis on physical attractions) was used. The validity of the questionnaire was verified by 15 faculty members and its reliability was calculated in a preliminary study with 30 subjects with Cronbach's alpha of 0/75. Also, descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze the data using spss software (version 21). The results showed that climbing and caving attractions with an average rating 3/55, water sports and seasonal attractions with an average rating 3/36, and hunting and hunting and nature trap attractions with the average rating 2/87 are of the highest importance in the development of sports tourism in Lorestan province.  According to the results, it is hoped that investing in the infrastructure sector for sport tourism attractions such as climbing and caving, water sports and seasonal sports in Lorestan province will be considered by managers in the tourism sector.