The Study of Tourism Geography and Cultural Tourism Attraction and Handicrafts with the SWOT and TOPSIS Techniques in Lorestan Province

Handicrafts constitute one of the artistic and cultural manifestations. Considering that each handicraft illustrating historical, social and cultural characteristics of its production location can also be taken as an important factor in declaring of culture and civilization and also considered as a cause for attracting tourists and foreign tourists. Because of providing income sources and job opportunities; many countries benefit from handicrafts as part of cultural tourism as well as archaeological sites and cultural heritage. In Lorestan province, because of the abundance of cheap raw material resources, long history of handcrafts production and variety of hand-made crafts fields, handicrafts can be known as an important factor to attract cultural tourists and the underlying employment and income for people of this province. The method of research includes descriptive-analytic and its type is applied -developed. To collect information, both documentary and field studies (questionnaires and interviews) were used. The research preliminary findings, using SWOT technique was investigated and finally 12 strengths and 13 weaknesses, 10 threatened and 13 the opportunity were studied, and 25 appropriate and applied strategies presented and finally the authorities, tourists and manufacturer's viewpoint-using TOPSIS technique strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities indexes- were ranked. TOPSIS technique results show that inner strength is more effective in developing handicraft than other factors. Thus, aggressive strategies perch on top of priority. Mobilizing and Integrating of the handicraft market, categorizing and prioritizing of products and fields which have the advantage of export products and crafts and complementary products, facilities granted to handicraft artisans, according to experienced and active marketers presence in the province and etc. are solutions to improve the current status of cultural tourism (handicrafts) in the studying area respectively.