Identifying influential drivers for tourism development in free trade zones (case study: Aras free zone)

Considering that tourism development is subject to feasibility under the preconditions, this research seeks to identify the influential factors on the development of tourism in the Aras free zone. The research method in this study is applied with a descriptive-analytical nature. The statistical population of the study consisted of managers, officials, urban experts and academic elites of Aras free zone, and the sample size is estimated to be 340 people based on the modified Cochran model. To analyze the research data, the least squares model was used in Warp-PLS software. The results of the research show that among the proponents of the study, the most influential are economic (EC), Management (MA). Marketing and Advertising (MAA) and Education (ED). The coefficients were extracted according to the structural model of the research for each of them: 0.67, 0.59, 0.51 and 0.48 respectively. On the other hand, the effect of these proponents on the two dimensions of tourism development, namely, economic and physical (EP), and political, social and cultural (PSC), has been measured. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between the drivers and components of tourism development at the 95% confidence level has it.