Future Studies of Religious Tourism of Qom Province based on Scenario Planning Approach

Qom province has many religious tourism opportunities due to its various historical, cultural, artistic and religious attractions. The present research seeks to identify key factors affecting the future of religious tourism in Qom province. The present research is based on a philosophical, interpretive perspective; from the perspective of orientation, applied and from the perspective of methodology, is multiple qualitative. The believable scenarios of this research include the agitated world scenario, the sustainable city scenario, the beautiful city scenario and the scorched city scenario. Critical uncertainty technique was used to determine the final drivers of the research in order to create believable scenarios. The believable scenarios of the present study were based on the two uncertainties of foreign sanctions and the development of the city based on the competitive advantage. The beautiful city scenario shows that external sanctions are declining, and the city's development will be based on its competitive advantage or religious tourism, and will show the best of the future. On the other hand, the scorched city scenario represents the worst situation that may occur. This scenario will be created at the crossroads between increased sanctions and uneven and irregular urban development.