Sports Tourism Destinations on the Path of Sustainability: Assessing Obstacles and Challenges A Case Study of Isfahan Province

Despite numerous studies and annual reports of international organizations on the sustainability of tourism destinations, this sustainability still needs to be institutionalized in the country's sports tourism industry. In fact, Iranian sports tourism is by no means "sustainable" in terms of revenue and economic benefits, nor in terms of protection of resources and assets. Therefore, the present study seeks to identify and evaluate the obstacles to achieving sustainability in the sports tourism industry, done with a case study of Isfahan province. Two expert groups were selected using a Survey method based on interviews and questionnaires. The first group included 14 university experts, and the second group included 180 experts and senior managers of sports and tourism organizations in Isfahan province. Sampling from both groups was done purposefully. Data analysis was performed using open coding techniques, heuristic factor analysis, and multivariate regression analysis. Based on the results, barriers to sustainability in sports tourism destinations in Isfahan province were identified and categorized into 6 key areas with 36 variables. The main axes are Weakness in policy-making and vision; Inefficiency in managing sports tourism destinations; Non-social acceptance; Environmental constraints; Weakness of investment and employment; and Lack of security. The most influential factor was the weakness in policy-making and vision. Accordingly, in order to achieve sustainability, policy-making approaches to the management of tourism destinations in the country should be reviewed. Finally, it was concluded that in the absence of policy-making and regulatory approaches at the national level, it is possible to organize the sports tourism market to some extent by defining a specific perspective at the provincial level in the form of provincial development programs. This is possible by applying some requirements