Investigating the Relationship between Tourism and Creating a Happy City: A Case Study of Chalous and Nowshahr Cities, Mazandaran, Iran

Tourism can help create happiness and, therefore, provide people with the satisfaction of life. On the other hand, the presence of a "happy host" is a fundamental requirement for the successful development of tourism, making the monitoring of the tourism-induces happiness and satisfaction level a key factor in any such development program. In this regard, as assessing the issue in Noshahr and Chalous cities (as two main tourist destinations in northern Iran) is of particular importance, this study set out to investigate the role of tourism in constructing the indices of a happy city in Chalus and Nowshahr. The statistical population of the study comprised residents of Nowshahr and Chalous cities. Moreover, the sample size was estimated to be 380 using Cochran's formula, and the participants of the study were selected via the convenience sampling method. Finally, the data collected from the questionnaires distributed among the respondents were analyzed through structural equations and factor analysis using the SPSS and PLS software. The results revealed that tourism was effective in creating happy cities in Nowshahr and Chalous. However, according to the results of statistical tests, the extent of such influence was found to be very poor. It was also found that tourism slightly increased the welfare, happiness, social participation, and satisfaction of the residents of Nowshahr and Chalous cities.