A qualitative analysis of the factors affecting the growth of film tourism in Iran

The importance and necessity of commercial and entertaining communication in tourism industry is somehow evident. Using film tourism, it is possible to make deep effects on culture and economy. This research has studied some advantages and problems of film tourism in contemporary Iran .Semi- structured interview and field observation were used to collect data. Several interviews were conducted with professionals in the field of tourism, communication, film and media, business owners related to tourism and film tourists who were selected by purposive sampling. According to research finding, film tourism in Iran is in its early stages. The existence of filming organizations in Iran, the making of historical films in historical locations, the existence of successful examples of tourism- oriented films, the existence of filmmakers interested in promoting tourism, carrying out some successful activities in the private sector, the growth of filmmaking and winning international award in this context, and the accuracy of the filmmakers in choosing the right location for the film contribute to the growth of film tourism in Iran. On the other hand, lack of a  center to introduce and sell film locations to filmmakers, the lack of film tourism tours, the people’s poor financial ability to use film tourism tours, the reluctance of filmmaker and actors to allow visitors to film locations, the difficulty and cost of protecting and maintaining if the locations are visited by the public during the entire week, the unknown nature of film tourism, and the problems in filmmaking are some of the obstacles to the growth of film tourism in Iran.