Socio- economic effects analysis of commercial tourism on the border towns of the Iran (Case study: Baneh and Sardasht Towns)

The border towns of Baneh and Sardasht, located in two provinces of West Azerbaijan and Kurdistan, are dependent on the informal economy due to geographical and environmental characteristics and the backwardness of the formal economic sectors. Following the growth of this type of economy, commercial tourism has flourished in these cities and brought about changes. One of the main effects of this is the growth of travel to these two cities with the incentive to buy. In this research, the purpose of studying the positive and negative effects of tourism on the cities studied is based on the perceptions of experts living in these cities. According to the results of distributed questionnaires and their analysis with the AHP model, it has been determined that tourism in the economic dimension has increased the rental of goods, rent of houses and increased direct and indirect employment in relation to tourism. It also increased the population of the studied cities, reduced outbound immigration and increased immigration into the cities. Following these developments and the growth of tourism, somewhat increased the income of the people. Although, in general, the distribution of income from tourism has not been distributed among the population, it is possible to reduce the negative effects of tourism through the adoption of principled policies and appropriate programs in the field of tourism and add to its positive effects.