Multipurpose Tourism and the Issue of Sustainable Development in Border Areas Case Study: Piranshahr Border City

The main purpose of this article is to study the fields and consequences of multipurpose tourism and its effects on sustainable local-rural development in the border cities of Piranshahr. This article seeks to analyze the social and cultural effects as well as to pave the way for the development of multipurpose tourism in the study area by using the mixed quantitative-qualitative research method at different time periods as well as documentary studies and interviews with local development agents and elites, tourists and local people. The results show that on the one hand, considering the natural, cultural and social contexts and location in the border region, the weaknesses of tourism in the region can be turned into strengths with the participation of local people. And used external opportunities, including commercial-recreational tourism, and the region's "borderline" to offset the threats that have plagued tourism in the region. The results also indicate that the development of multifunctional tourism (recreational, commercial, medical and cultural) can compensate for the shortcomings of local development in the study area. On the other hand, by attracting national, transnational (local Kurdistan of Iraq) and local investments in the field of tourism, a strong bridge between national and local development can be established while expanding local development. If this happens, the study community can be a successful model of local development based on tourism in the country.