A Study of the effective factors in choosing travel destinations among customers of Kurdistan travel agencies

Tourism industry has developed rapidly in the last two decades and today the economic importance of tourism is significant. In many countries, tourism is an important factor of economic development. The importance of this sector can be inferred from the fact that it increases earnings, creates employment opportunities, encourages the private sector and develops infrastructures. Tour operators, transportation industry, hotels and restaurants need to recognize and have knowledge of changes in the most important factors of tourism demand. The purpose of this study is to investigate the most important factors influencing the choice of a tourism destination and the importance of these factors. questionnaires are used to evaluate the factors that influence the choice of destination. 270 questionnaires were analyzed using Pearson test and Friedman test was. Reliability of questioners also was examined by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (o.83). Results show that all factors have an influence on choosing a travel destination. In addition, Economic factors are also recognized to be the most important factor in choosing travel destination and factors of the Agency's programs, geographical- natural factors, personal factors, sociocultural, political and other factors are ranked lower.