A Model to Develop Ecotourism Industry in Iran with Emphasis on Information Technology

Today, the ecotourism industry has become one of the important sources of income for the villagers. IT, as an empowerment and integrator of the value network in the ecotourism industry, can play a significant role in the development of this industry by increasing local employment, increasing the income of local people and capabilities of rural areas. This study aims to provide a model to develop ecotourism industry in Iran with an emphasis on IT. This research is a qualitative research that has been carried out by content analysis and Delphi methods. In the content analysis method, the indicators of the initial model have been extracted. Then, this model has been completed and tested by the Delphi method. The statistical population in the content analysis method included all texts related to the research topic and in the Delphi method were experts and university professors specializing in e-tourism and e-tourism industry which 30 experts cooperated until the end of the third round. Sampling method was done in content analysis method using counting and in Delphi method using snowball. Based on the findings of the first part of the research, 38 indicators have been identified, and in the second part, 24 indicators have been added to model, of which six of the identified indicators have not been agreed by experts. The research model includes 56 indicators, 34 components and 9 dimensions (including legal infrastructure, financial infrastructure, mobile commerce infrastructure, e-advertising management, content marketing, customer relationship management, e-HRM, local partnership and software infrastructure). Paying attention to the model extracted from this research can pave the way for the further development of the ecotourism industry in Iran by using the capabilities of IT.