Explaining the Geographical Dimensions of Economic Development of the Tourism Industry in Iran's Free Zones and Presenting a Model (Case Study: Chabahar Free Zone)

As an economic development means economic growth along with increasing production capacities including physical, human and social capacities, the purpose of the present research is to explain the economic development model of the tourism industry in Iran's free zones from a geographical point of view. through purposive sampling, the data of Chabahar Free Trade Zone Organization managers, tourism activists, tourism officials, local communities and tourists were collected and analyzed through semi-structured interviews and applying the grounded theory approach, the economic development model of the tourism industry of Iran's free zones was designed from a geographical point of view. Findings of the research showed that the dimensions of the economic development model can be categorized into sixty-nine main categories such as the lack of a comprehensive data bank about tourism spots, lack of a strong tourism social media (website, blog, social network and...), lack of strong content production in the field of tourism, the existence of cost, process, and inter-unit problems related to tourism, etc. The conclusion of this qualitative research show the correct application of this model can improve the credibility of tourism institutions, increase the interactions between tourism institutions and tourists, improve the satisfaction of tourists and tourism staff, create a distinction in the quality of services and reputation of tourism institutions and increase the productivity of tourism institutions.