Anthropology of Tourism, Creative Space, Creative Tourism, Social Communication

This study sought to identify and describe social communication methods used in terms of cultural signification by tourists and the host community in Chaharbagh Avenue, Isfahan, Iran. To this end, a qualitative approach was adopted, using the meaning coordination management model as the theoretical framework. The population of the study comprised the residents of Isfahan City, among whom thirty people were selected through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. The required data were collected via participatory observation and semi-structured interviews, which were then analyzed through content analysis, and open and axial coding. The study’s findings indicated that while the majority of Isfahani people expressed a positive attitude concerning the presence of tourists and establishing communication with them in Chaharbagh Avenue, poor creative hardware and software infrastructure in street communication, lack of coordination among policymakers, planners, and operational units in establishing effective communication and failing to consider creativity in redefining the third generation tourism products have prevented the avenue to gain a desired position in terms of tourism success. However, it could generally be argued that the residents of Isfahan City (as the host community) had a favorable attitude towards making effective communications with tourists in Chaharbagh Avenue.