Policy Referential and Development of Tourism Industry in Iran: With an Emphasis on the 3rd. and 4th. Five-Year Development Plans

Despite having diverse attractions، Iran has a tiny proportion of global revenues of tourism industry. Development of the tourism industry in Iran has been analyzed from the perspective of various disciplines. In this research، underdevelopment of tourism industry in Iran was studied from the perspective of public policy-making and with an emphasis on the concept of policy referential. Referential of tourism policies was evaluated in terms of the Five-Year Development Plans. Based on the findings، the referential of tourism policies does not provide a clear definition of tourism status of Iran، and demands and expectations of government authorities regarding tourism is not well-defined and does not submit a comprehensive look of the different sectors of the tourism industry. As a result، the ambiguity of tourism sector referential has influenced the process of development، implementation and evaluation of tourism policies and thereby، failing to meet the objectives of tourism development.