Negative consequences of Urban Tourism Development in District 22 of Tehran from the Viewpoint of Citizens and Experts

The development of the tourism industry and its positive effects on human societies have been emphasized in most parts of the world, while the uneven development of tourism has led to negative effects and consequences in society and has received less attention.

In this study, analysis of the damages and negative consequences of uneven urban tourism development in district 22 of Tehran have been studied from the viewpoints of citizens and experts. The statistical population of the study consisted of include the citizens of district 22 of Tehran and experts of the municipality. According to Cochran's formula, 385 citizens participated in the study by random sampling. 45 Experts also participated in the study with 45 people by non-random and accessible participants sampling.  In order to prioritize damage indices and items, the mean Likert type scale was used. For analytical purposes of this study and to compare means of tourism damages between citizens and experts, independent t-test was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.

The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between citizens and experts in spatial-physical, economic, and socio-cultural indices. The environmental impacts of uneven tourism uneven development in district 22 of Tehran has been more important for experts, but spatial-physical damage has become more important and the first priority from the viewpoints of the citizens.

The result of this study highlights the importance of environmental index and its ensuing consequences from the viewpoints of experts. But according to citizen’s citizens’ opinions, issues such as urban traffic, access to services and markets and uneven construction are more important.