Spatial Planning of Tourism Services (case study: Fars Province)

Tourism industry, according to figures and Statistics of published by the World Tourism Organization in the new millennium, has turned to the largest source of world revenue. The economists know this industry as the third dynamic economic activity which accounts for 9% of global GDP. This is more than the automotive industry which accounts for 8.5%, and only slightly less than the banking sector which accounts for 11%. Travel & Tourism is a dynamic industry which boosts economies by generating income, employment, investment and exports, thus stimulating economic growth. Iran is one of the top ten countries which according to terms of UNESCO have outstanding archaeological and historic attractions and one of the most noble of human civilization in the realm of political geography, but it accounts for a tiny proportion of the major tourism market.
In the highly competitive tourism industry, service becomes one of the most important elements for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. Consequently, the efforts of service managers and academic researchers are directed towards understanding how customers perceive the quality of service. Research on destination loyalty shows that one of the most decisive factors in a further visit to a destination by tourists is their satisfaction with previous stays there. Therefore the tourists’ satisfaction requires a detailed analysis of the services and its proper handling, and one way to satisfy tourists is the tourism spatial planning program, because Tourism development planning approach can be an effective factor in achieving the goals of sustainable and balanced development of our country.
On the other hand the spatial planning attempts to reach the best spatial pattern to regional development. Since the vast Fars Province is of the most important tourism centers of Iran and thousands of tourists annually visit its historical, cultural and natural attractions, therefore planning of tourism services have special importance. When according to the importance of attractions appropriate services are offered to tourists their satisfaction will increase and thus they stay a longer time in the area. Main purposes of this research include:• Analyzing the spatial distribution of services and supply centers, and creating a balance between tourism and tourism services.
• Zoning optimal supply centers of tourism services throughout the Fars Province.
Research This research is an analytical, descriptive and practical research. Also the data has been collected by library and field studies. First the criteria of spatial planning were defined by Delphi method, then for analyzing the data, the hierarchical weighting method of Fuller has been used. After weighting the criteria, the optimization and ranking models were used to choose the appropriate zone of tourism services. Also the MAPPAC which is a mental method based on the experts’ pinions and Artificial Neural Network method which is a data- based approach have been used to zone the appropriate tourism services.
Defining the criteria is one of the most important and fundamental steps of any research. Criteria of this research which were obtained by Delphi method include: 1- Specific or car services (petrol stations, gas stations ...). 2- Business services (supermarkets, fast food markets …). 3- Natural factors (slope, elevation and natural hazards) 4- roads 5- tourism attractions (natural, historical, religious) and 6- infrastructures (leisure centers, police centers …). Then by Fuller model the criteria were weighted and according to the opinions of experts the most important one was historical attractions and the least weight were allocated to natural hazards. Then the weighting the data layers the criteria were connected to the base unit of political zones of Fars Province.
After connecting the required layers to the base unit, according to the research goal of ranking the appropriate tourism zones, the optimization and ranking models were applied because the distribution of services in proportion of tourism attractions is not spatially balanced. In other words there are tourism attractions which despite of owning high potential of attracting tourists have no or not enough services. The MAPPAC method which is based on the opinion of experts was used to ranking and prioritizing the appropriate zones. Then by applying the ANN model the best zone of tourism services were distinguished.
Results of this research indicates that a great part of Fars Province despite tourism attractions have less or no tourism services. Experts believe that the ANN model is more matched by the present reality.
After connecting the required layers to the base unit, according to the research goal of ranking the appropriate tourism zones, the optimization and ranking models were applied because the distribution of services in proportion of tourism attractions is not spatially balanced. In other words there are tourism attractions which despite of owning high potential of attracting tourists have no or not enough services. The MAPPAC method which is based on the opinion of experts was used to ranking and prioritizing the appropriate zones. Then by applying the ANN model the best zone of tourism services were distinguished.