Longing to travel: A Qualitative Exploration of Social and Cultural Dynamics of Travel in Iran

In the last few decades, after discussions of sustainable development and tourism, along with economic considerations and justifications, attention has been paid to the social and cultural dimensions of travel and tourism. To this end, the present study aimed at investigating travelling from social and cultural perspectives and indicate its dynamics. In order to achieve this goal, the understanding and behavior of middle and upper middle class women in the city of Mashhad in the field of travelling were studied. In this regard, using qualitative approach and grounded theory method, and using a theoretical and purposive sampling, deep interviews were conducted with 21 women in Mashhad city. For the purpose of data analysis, open, axial and selective coding were utilized. The findings included 20 main categories and a core category, entitled "longing to travel". The findings were presented by story line, paradigm model, and small scale theory. In general, the findings indicate that although the participants are wanderlust and are eager to have a varied and quality journey, they long to travel due to the fact that they are subject to structural constraints.