Evaluation of Effective Drivers in Strategic Planning of Historical-cultural Tourism Development (A case study of Tabriz metropolis)

In recent years, tourism has emerged as a smoke-free industry and has become a substantial source of income for many countries in world trade. It is also an important element in improving and regulating the trade balance and balance of payments. Therefore, strategic planning for the development of this industry has become crucial in most countries. The purpose of this study is to identify effective drivers in the strategic planning of tourism development in Tabriz. The research method used in this study is both applied and descriptive-analytical. The statistical population of the study includes approximately 2000 people, which comprises managers, officials, urban experts, and academic elites of Tabriz. The sample size was estimated at 340 based on the modified Cochran model. The research data was analyzed using the partial least squares model in Warp-PLS software. The findings indicate that the most important drivers of tourism development with a focus on historical-cultural tourism are related to legal-political, economic-marketing, and managerial drives, respectively. The coefficients extracted based on the structural model of the research for each driver are 0.71, 0.65, and 0.53. Among the sub-variables, the most influential ones are related to measures such as correcting negative perceptions and eliminating Iranophobia to increase motivation for traveling to Iran, enhancing international tourism cooperation, removing barriers such as bureaucratic regulations and accommodation issues, providing proper information and advertising in target markets, building institutional interaction and trust between public and private bodies, using participation, establishing accommodation facilities that comply with international standards, and providing facilities based on the nationality and culture of tourists through an appropriate needs assessment of their preferences.