Explaining the Components of Creative Tourism on the Zayandehrood Axisof Isfahan From the Citizens’ Perspective

As the third generation of tourism, creative tourism engages tourists with the cultural attractions of the destination and provides the opportunity to learn and connect with the host community. The development of creative tourism in the Zayandehrood axis is really necessary in a situation where the majority of tourists in Isfahan are cultural tourists and where successive droughts have caused damage to this natural attraction. The purpose of this research is to explain creative tourism indicators from the perspective of the citizens of Isfahan. 

The method is descriptive-analytic and survey-based. In this study, the indicators of creative tourism based on the data obtained from 384 citizens of Isfahan were examined and tested. In order to analyze the findings, confirmatory factor analysis was used in Amos software.

The results of this analysis show that physical factors are the first, social in the second, economic in the third, management in the fourth, cultural in the fifth, and ecological is the sixth priority of creative tourism on the Zayandehrood Axis; and if creative uses are created in accordance with the architectural style of historic bridges, the Zayandehrood axis will attract citizens and tourists even in dry times.

Among the cultural indicators of local festivals, stories and considering spaces to display the native arts of Isfahan, such as music, handicrafts, food, etc., are in priority. Among social indicators, sociability and memorable mental images are in priority. In this regard, educational and recreational spaces for different age groups can be considered according to the potentials of different Zayandehrood axis sequences. In the economic indicators of creative tourism, technology is a greater factor in providing services and branding slogans; and creative tourism designers should identify the brand message according to the potentials of the Zayandehrood axis and Isfahan and create a marketing campaign. In physical indicators, consideration of infrastructure, safety, and creative design are in priority. Therefore, upgrading the tourism infrastructure of the Zayandehrood axis along with designing creative places and spaces to stimulate the creativity of citizens and tourists should be considered. Among the environmental indicators, new technologies to reduce environmental pollution, conservation of green spaces, energy saving, water flow in the Zayanderood, and considering creative benefits as incentives for eco-friendly citizens can be a priority. Apart from that, from the management indicators, non-governmental organizations will have a significant impact on the creative tourism of the Zayandehrood axis. Cultural, social, economic, physical, and managerial factors have a factor load of more than 0.9 and ecological factor has a factor load of 0.871; therefore, all factors have a great impact on creative tourism of the Zayandehrood axis planning and will provide active participation based on original and unique experiences.