Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Management, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

3 M.Sc. Candidate of MBA, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Science, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey

4 Professor, Department of Business, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Science, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to identify and prioritize spiritual-based tourism strategies in Qom province. The present study is interpretive from the philosophical foundations point of view and is applied from the point of view of orientation. It is also a survey in terms of data collection and from a methodological point of view, it is qualitative. The statistical population of the study is the experts and managers in the field of tourism and the sampling method is judgmental. 10 experts were selected from among the samples. In order to carry out the research, internal and external factors affecting the spiritual-based tourism in Qom province were identified through reviewing the literature and interviewing experts. After the internal and external factors were screened, 15 internal and 14 external factors remained. In addition, the nature of internal and external factors was identified in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and the most effective factors were determined by using the DEMATEL technique for preparing the SWOT table. With identifying the final list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, strategies were prioritized from the perspective of research experts by ARAS method. Three strategies to support provincial headquarters, banks and entrepreneurship funds from web-based tourism businesses and social networks, defining research priorities of tourism-related organizations based on civil society support, and strengthening  training programs to justify diversity in the community and its benefits had the highest priority.

Keywords

Abbasi, M., Shakermi, N., & Malek, R. (2018). “Strategic Planning of Urban Tourism Development Case Study: Khorramabad City”. Journal of Geographical Space Preparation. 8(28), 155-168.
Agarwal, V. (2019). “Unpacking the elusive dimensionality of “spirituality” based on patient description of experiences during complementary and alternative medicine treatment of pain”. Advances in Integrative Medicine, 6, S64.
Ambroz, M. (2011). “Tourist Origin and Spiritual Motives”. Journal of Management, 16(2), 71-86.
Baksi, A., & Sürücü, H. A. (2019). “Is spirituality an important variable as the predictor of emotional labour for nursing students?”. Nurse Education Today, 79, 135-141.
Cheer, J. M., Belhassen, Y., & Kujawa, J. (2017). “The search for spirituality in tourism: Toward a conceptual framework for tourism based on spirituality”., Tourism Management Perspectives, 24, pp 252-256.
Coles, R. (1991)., The Spiritual Life of Children., ISBN: 9780547524641, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.
Doumit, M. A., Rahi, A. C., Saab, R., & Majdalani, M. (2019). “Spirituality among parents of children with cancer in a Middle Eastern country”. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 39, 21-27.
Ebrahimzadeh, I.,; Kazemi, Sh.,; Eskandari Sani, M. (2011). “Strategic Planning of Tourism Development with Emphasis on Religious Tourism (Case Study: Qom City)”., Journal of Human Geography Research, 76, pp 115-141.
Herrero-Prieto, L. C., & Gomez-Vega, M. (2017). “Cultural resources as a factor in cultural tourism attraction: Technical efficiency estimation of regional destinations in Spain”., Tourism Economics, 23(2), 260-280.
Jingyi, L., & Chung-Shing, C. (2018). “Local cultural vicissitudes in regional tourism development: A case of Zhuhai”. Tourism Management Perspectives, 25, pp 80-92.
Lugosi, P., Bell, D., & Lugosi, K. (2010). “Hospitality, culture and regeneration: Urban decay, entrepreneurship and the ‘ruin’bars of Budapest,”.  Urban Studies, 47(14), pp 3079-3101.
Miner-Williams, D. (2006). “Putting a puzzle together: Making spirituality meaningful for nursing using an evolving theoretical framework”., Journal of Clinical Nursing Science Quarterly, 15(7), pp.811-821.
Okamoto, R. (2015). Seichi Junrei: Sekai isan kara anime no butai made. Chūō Kōron Shinsha.
Plante, T. G. and Thoresen, C. E. (2007)., Spirit, Science, and Health: How the Spiritual Mind Fuels Physical Wellness., ISBN: 9780275995065, Greenwood Publishing Group.
Scott, D., McBoyle, G., & Mills, B. (2009). “Climate change and the skiing industry in Southern Ontario (Canada): Exploring the importance of snowmaking as a technical adaptation”., Climate Research, 23, pp 171-181.
Shakermi, N., AjzaShokouhi, M., Mansourzadeh, A. M. (2018). “Strategic Tourism Planning of Kurdistan Province Based on the Regional Competitiveness Identity Using the Meta-SOWT Technique”., Journal of Urban Studies, 7(26), pp 17-30.
Tanyi, R. A. (2002). “Towards classification of the meaning of spirituality”., Journal of Advanced Nursing, 39(5), pp 500-509.
Timothy, D. J., & Conover, P. J. (2006). “Nature religion, self-spirituality and new age tourism”. In D. J. Timothy & D. H. Olsen (Eds.), Tourism, Religion and Spiritual Journeys (pp. 139–155): Routledge.
World economic forum (2017). The travel and tourism competitiveness.
Zargham Borojeni, H., Tohidloo, M. (2011)., “The Model of Effective Tourism Management Study: Religious Destination of Mashhad”., Journal of Tourism Management Studies, 6(16), pp 25-52