Identifying Factors Affecting the Spiritual Perception of Tourists in Iran

Defined as the ability to comprehend and interpret non-material aspects of the human soul, spiritual perception plays a crucial role in both the well-being of tourists and the effectiveness of tourism marketing. Therefore, tourism can provide proper grounds for experiencing such a perception. Accordingly, this study sought to identify the factors involved in tourists' spiritual perception. To this end, the study applied a meta-synthesis approach, systematically reviewing previous studies. Moreover, to ensure the comprehensiveness of the factors and their compatibility with the Iranian cultural context, expert opinions were collected through the Delphi method using snowball sampling. The data collection at this phase continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. According to the findings of the study, six main categories were found to have been involved in tourists' spiritual perception, including "Quality of Interactions", "Environment", "Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Destination", "Tourist's Presuppositions", "Low-ritual Travel", and "Development of the Tourist's Spiritual Intelligence", encompassing 46 sub-categories. Accordingly, spiritual marketers can set their strategies by focusing on and enhancing the abovementioned factors. Given the lack of established theories on spiritual marketing in tourism and its practical application, this study provides a comprehensive framework for identifying, classifying, and interpreting the factors affecting spiritual perception in tourism, thereby offering valuable insights for both marketers and future research.