Evaluation of Influence of Tourism on Tehran Economic Development

Tourism development and enjoyment of its capacities is an important step in economic flourish. In this regard, serious and purposeful attention to the urban tourism especially in metropolitans such as Tehran which has high capacity in this case can lead the economic flourish of city and increase of income for public and private sectors, and promotion of living level of citizens. The existence of historical, natural, commercial, religious, therapeutic, sporting, and important scientific, cultural, social and political attractions have special capabilities that can play an important role in the development of tourism in Tehran. However, so far, little has been done regarding the optimal use of these capabilities. Considering the existing capacities in this metropolis, in the event of proper planning and management of urban tourism, Tehran becomes one of the most important tourist centers of the world, as a result of economic growth and attracting vast financial resources, creating employment and raising the level of income of citizens The inhabitants of this city are far from waiting. To meet this goal, it is unavoidable to evaluate the current conditions and recognize the foregoing challenges. The purpose of this research is to analyze and evaluate the effect of tourism on economic development of Tehran. This research is practical in goals, descriptive- surveying in terms of research methodology, and the data was collected using the library and questionnaire method. After collecting the factors, a preliminary questionnaire containing a number of specific factors was provided to 15 experts of the tourism industry in Tehran including academic professors, researchers and experienced experts of this industry. The purpose of this work was to verify The factors are the completion and addition of new factors to the opinion of the experts of the field of tourism. After completing the final questionnaire and performing the validity and reliability test, a questionnaire was provided to the sample group for response. In order to measure the validity of the questionnaire, the opinions of the professors and experts in the fields of geography and tourism management were used and for the reliability evaluation, the Kronbach Alfa method was used. Statistical population of research is the inhabitants in Tehran among which the researcher- prepared questionnaire was distributed and collected. Enjoying Cochran formula, 384 persons were chosen as the sample of statistical population, data analysis and use of statistical tests were carried out using SPSS software. The development of urban tourism in Tehran, which is the source of new developments in the field of economy, increasing the influx of international and domestic tourists and injecting new currency into the commercial and commercial cycle of Tehran, increasing the production of goods and services and increasing the level of citizens' income and creating Job opportunities and new investment in tourism will result in tax revenues from activities related to the tourism industry. Based on the results, growth of tourism and income resources of this industry may be an effective and important factor on economic development and income stability of Tehran. Also, tourism development is impressed by some factors such as infrastructures and facilities, information and advertisement. If the conditions are met for the development of urban tourism in Tehran, the attraction of international and domestic tourists to the city will increase and as a result new money will be injected into the urban economy. Activities and investments in the tourism sector will expand and produce goods and services. For many unemployed youth, employment will be directly and indirectly created, and the income and quality of life of households in the city will be somewhat improved. To achieve this goal, the government should play a policy and purely sovereign role and delegate the role of the executive to the private sector with the necessary support and supervision.