Effects of Horse Racing on Tourism Development (Case Study: Golestan Province)

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting the development of equestrian tourismin Golestan province. The research method is a mixed type of qualitative and quantitative method. The sampling method was purposeful and available. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviewsidentified the factors affecting the development of equestrian tourism. The research instrument consistedof a researcher-made questionnaire including 6 managerial, infrastructure, economic, cultural, social, politicaland environmental components total 32 questions were collected.  The content validity of the questionnairewas confirmed by a number of sport management professors whose reliability was calculated as 0.82 byCronbach's alpha. after collecting the questionnaire, the data were analyzed by descriptive and inferentialstatistics spss22.The findings of the study showed that the average rank of strategic planning for tourism development in equestrian sport (8.40), recreational and sports facilities for tourist preservation (9.10), Creating different job opportunities (7.58), keeping the long-standing and national traditions alive (9.13), collaborating between domestic and foreign tourism stakeholders (9.16) and protecting natural resources (8.62), in attracting tourists and developing Horse riding has a huge impact. Tourism planningcan lead to economic diversification and prosperity of organized economic activities in the field of tourismand pave the way for tourism development for equestrian sport. Reducing and eliminating restrictions on the motivation and satisfaction of tourist’s results from horse riding.