Strategic planning for employment development, with emphasise on Religious Tourism (Case study of Mashhad)

The objective of this study is evaluating and suggesting optimal strategies to develop employment in religious tourism sector in Mashhad. Analytical tools like QSPM Matrix, SWOT and IE were used for the year of 1390. Results of the IE matrix showed that the strategic position of employment in the religious tourism sector in Mashhad, is the defensive strategy. In the SWOT matrix, the defensive strategies which are the most effective for planning and improving in employment in the religious tourism sector were selected and eventually these defensive strategies were prioritized using the matrix QSPM based on their attractive scores. Based on the priority result, "promoting technical and professional knowledge for labor force in religious tourism sector", "preparing appropriate outlines for employment in religious tourism" and "creating new and sustainable employment opportunities based on labor market demand" were selected respectively. Considering the results of the study, some suggestions have been proposed to achieve the better implementation of these strategies.