The Role of Sport Tourism in Promoting Green Behaviors of Tourists

Sports tourism is one of the most important types of tourism, growing and developing rapidly. Tourist destinations in the field of sports, while supporting sports tourism policies, are also directed towards environmental issues, which try to create green behaviors in tourists. Therefore, sports tourism is one field that has implemented this category. This research aims to investigate sports tourism's role in promoting tourists' green behaviors, focusing on Ardabil province. The current research method is mixed, which was carried out using a sequential exploratory approach in two qualitative-quantitative phases. The methods used in this research are "thematic analysis and survey," respectively. The statistical population of the research in the first phase includes experts in sports tourism, sport management, and behavior management, who were interviewed using the persuasive sampling method. In the second phase of the research, the influential actors of this field were used. Using the systematic sampling method, 31 experts answered the questionnaire questions. According to the research findings in the first phase, the themes extracted from the semi-structured interviews were categorized into 36 basic themes, 15 organizing themes, and three global themes. According to the findings of the second phase of the research, all themes were approved by the experts, and all of them are factors that determine the role of sports tourism in promoting the green behaviors of tourists. As a result, sports tourism, while creating macro "social, cultural and economic" benefits for residents and visitors, has a significant contribution to the occurrence of green behaviors in tourists, and this category, while protecting the environment, also has an impact on the development of sports tourism. Also, this category represents a combination of green behaviors that can strengthen and develop visitors' pro-environmental attitudes and create recreational experiences.