Strategic Planning for Rural Tourism Development Based on Competitive Identity: A Case of North Khorasan Villages

The purpose of this study is to conduct strategic planning for the development of tourism in North Khorasan villages based on competitive identity. The required data and information were collected using both library and survey methods. The sample consists of 40 experts familiar with the subject, selected using the snowball method. The Meta-SWOT tool was used to analyze the data and provide a competitive and strategic map. The results show that, in the regional competition map, Khorasan Razavi’s rural tourism, with a score of 5 on the x-axis (economic development), has the highest possible score and is considered the main competitor of North Khorasan’s rural tourism, which has an approximate score of 3.5. On the y-axis, which represents the socio-cultural dimension, the rural tourism of North Khorasan and Razavi are close to each other indicating that Razavi Khorasan and Golestan being the most important competitors in this dimension. On the strategic map, the historical tourism and rural eco-tourism capacity of North Khorasan, along with its bazaars, border crossings, and adjacency to the Razavi Khorasan tourist hub, have the highest strategic compatibility for strategic planning, with scores above 4 on the x-axis.