Prioritizing the Factors Influencing the Implementation of Tourism Policies in the Islamic Republic of Iran

There are some pieces of research on tourism policy، policy analysis and factors influencing the implementation process. Due to extension of studying planning، policy making and tourism، reviewing and examining such a complex and incoherent literature is difficult (Scott، 2011. P. 6). the importance of this article is somehow linked to the importance of studying tourism policy. Goeldner and Ritchie (2009) enumerated the functions that tourism policy has: It defines the rules of the game- the terms under which tourism operators must function. It sets out activities and behaviors that are acceptable for visitors. It provides a common direction and guidance for all tourism stakeholders within a destination. It facilitates consensus around specific strategies and objectives for a given destination. It provides a framework for public/private discussions of the role and contributions of the tourism sector to economy and to society in general. It allows tourism to interface more effectively with other sectors of the economy (Goeldner and Ritchie، 2009. P. 415-16). In order to determine the factors influencing the implantation of tourism policies in Iran، different policy models which could be used as the basis were examined. In this regard، a model proposed by RezghiRostami (2004) in the field of Industrial Policies of Iran was extracted. The model had seven factors which encompassed the variables influencing the implementation of tourism policies. Reviewing the other models and the related literature resulted in recognizing 65 influential variables. These variables were modified into 40 after considering the thoughts and comments of tourism policy experts. These variables were actually the questions of the research questionnaire with the scale of 0 to 10 (0، extremely unimportant to 10، extremely important). 83 tourism policy experts، both from academic society and tourism organizations) answered the questionnaire. Discussions and The results of confirmative factor analysis by the use of LISREL، such as T-value، Standardized Coefficient as well as Goodness of Fit Indexes confirmed that there are 7 factors that are influential in the implementation of tourism policies of Islamic Republic of Iran. These factors with regard to the priority of them are: 1. the characteristics of the executives، 2. administrative and bureaucratic system، 3. skills and knowledge of the executives، 4. plain goal setting and appropriate policy formulation، 5. target groups and stakeholders، 6. legal and civil support and 7. appropriate instruments and resources. With regard to the results of confirmative factor analysis، the above mentioned variables were proposed for implementation of tourism policies. Considering the prioritizing of these factors as a result of this article is useful in successful implementation of tourism policies. Moreover، the following suggestions can be proposed: Formulating the tourism policies in the ground of micro economic policies and considering the interrelationship between tourism policies and the other fields such as education، social welfare، employment and etc. Promoting social trust can also be useful for implementation of tourism policies with regard to increase in investment of private sector. More attention should be paid to staffing and skills of executive managers. More flexible burucratic systems are also needed. Considering the requirements of stakeholders also can facilitate the process of implementing tourism policies. Appropriate instruments and resources as undeniable factors in implementation of tourism policies.