A Critical Examination of the Social and Economic Strategies Employed to Accomplish the Advancement of Urban Tourism in the City of Kelardasht

This study was conducted with the objective of assessing the social and economic approaches employed to accomplish the advancement of urban tourism in the city of Kelardasht.

This applied study took place in two distinct phases during the year 2023 in Kelardasht. The initial phase consisted of extracting the criteria and influential indicators through a comprehensive literature review. The identified factors were subsequently transformed into a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire's validity was assessed using the Delphi method and was distributed among 25 experts and specialists residing in Kelardasht. After incorporating the necessary revisions, the questionnaire was once again distributed to the same 25 individuals. Ultimately, 6 criteria and 27 indicators were established to examine the assessment of development strategies in the economic and social dimensions of tourism. In the subsequent phase, a sample of 384 residents of Kelardasht was randomly selected to evaluate the aforementioned criteria and indicators.The ARAS technique was used for data analysis.

The economic dimension demonstrated an average score of 2.423, which surpassed the social dimension with an average score of 2.272 in the present circumstances within Kelardasht. Following the incorporation of social and economic indicators, the economic dimension will enjoy a comparatively improved state. When employing the ARAS technique to prioritize strategies, the strategy of "providing quality tourism services" [K=0.073828] took precedence, whereas the strategy of "developing tourism infrastructure" [K=0.071228] ranked second in priority.

The development of urban tourism operates as a intricate and interconnected process, wherein the influence of its diverse elements, encompassing investment, infrastructure management, environmental preservation, and the consideration of cultural and social aspects are of considerable significance.