Evaluation of Attractiveness and Competitiveness in Tourism Location using TDCA Model (Case Study: Koohsangi Park of Mashhad)

According to the world tourism organization, tourism industry is one of the most important economic activities around the world. Although world tourism industry has grown considerably compared with other industries, but nowadays it is faced different touristic region competition. The objective of this study was to evaluate the attractiveness and competitiveness of Mashhad Koohsangi Touristic Park using Tourism Destination Competitiveness and Attractiveness (TDCA) model. This park has many historical and cultural heritages, where many recreational facilities have been established recently. Data required were collected by means of filling questionnaire based on TDCA model. 241 tourists were randomly selected suring September 2009 as the sample population. Validity of data was confirmed by Chronbakh alpha value, which was 0.88. Data collected were analyzed based on the model using linear regression. Our findings shows that the area has suitable conditions from the viewpoint of attractiveness but it is faced with lack of competitiveness, which is the result of low attention to this issue in tourism planning in the area. It is obvious that authorities are not so free providing more attractive services to increase the competitiveness of site. They are faced to some limitations due to urban and residential situation of site. Therefore, at the moment in addition to the protection of existing attractiveness, applying incentive factors to increase competitiveness of area is the central requirement of tourism development planning in the area.