Evaluating the Effective Drivers on the Realization of Tourism Systematic Management with Emphasis on Good Governance Approach (Case Study: Tabriz Metropolis)

Extended Abstract

The tourism industry, as one of the most important phenomena of the third millennium, has had a significant impact on the economic growth and dynamism of countries and their cultural exchanges over the past half century with its exponential growth. As many scholars have called the present century the century of tourism. Nowadays, this industry has become one of the most complex human businesses in many countries of the world, and as a multifaceted activity, it has various functions and positive effects, which among them, we can mention job creation, earning money, attracting currency and strengthening infrastructure, and so on. In this regard, it is essential to know the importance and capacities of tourism in the national development strategy and in the global development program. On the other hand, considering that tourism is a completely complex system with different and diverse dimensions, it is a scene with various actors in different fields and services and a flexible and effective activity related to the economic and social factors of the society, therefore, strategic planning in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of tourism destinations and the threats and opportunities ahead in various dimensions by using a holistic and systematic approach is an inevitable necessity. In this regard, the aim of present study is identifying the effective drivers on realization of systematic management of tourism in Tabriz metropolis with emphasis on the good governance approach.
 

The research is applied and descriptive-analytical in terms of type and nature, respectively, which to collect data, documentary and field methods (interview and questioning) have been used. The statistical population of the study includes officials, managers and experts related to the field of tourism and academic elites, which the sample size was 384 through the Cochran's formula. In order to analyze the data, variance-based structural equations with partial least squares method have been exploited in Smart-PLS software. In the present study, first with documentary studies as well as interviews with 30 urban managers and academic elites, the effective indicators on the realization of systemic management in tourism were identified and then, data was collected through the sample size in the form of closed questionnaires about the effect of these indicators on tourism in Tabriz metropolis.
 

The research findings show that management in the field of tourism in Tabriz metropolis has problems such as lack of coordination and cooperation of organizations and government agencies and parallelism of organizations, defective administrative and bureaucratic structure of tourism organizations and lack of proper policy in tourism.  Also, findings indicate that the most effective among the components studied in order to achieve the tourism systematic management in Tabriz metropolis related to the existence of a single and accountable leadership; the existence of interaction and international trust in institutions involved in tourism and urban management efforts in creating and strengthening non-governmental associations and institutions in order to participate in tourism management with a score of 0.822, 0.803 and 0.756, respectively.
 

Nowadays, tourism is one of the world's three most lucrative industries (oil, automotive, and tourism). In this regard, tourism development, especially in less developed countries, is an effective factor in combating poverty and increases the income of different strata, reduces unemployment and economic prosperity and thus improves the quality of life and increases social welfare. Given the effectiveness and impressionability of this industry on different dimensions of society, it is necessary to consider a systemic perspective in tourism development planning. In this regard, the aim of present study is identifying the effective drivers on realization of systematic management of tourism in Tabriz metropolis with emphasis on the good governance approach. A study of the metropolitan management system of Tabriz in the field of tourism indicates that there are many problems in the proper management of this industry, including the lack of integration of the management system and parallel work of organizations involved in tourism, lack of proper capacity building in various dimensions such as poor education of specialized staff in various tourism centers; lack of proper needs assessment of tourists' preferences; non-use of knowledgeable people and taking advantage of successful national and international experiences; the lack of proper planning in the way of spatial distribution of elements affecting the various dimensions and types of tourism and the lack of attention to proper marketing and advertising. In order to achieve proper management in the field of tourism in Tabriz metropolis, emphasizing the systemic approach and good governance, it can be said that the most important effective initiatives are institutional capacity building, emphasis on institutional integration and integration, participation and efficiency and effectiveness.