Factors affecting investment in tourism sample regions of Tehran province (Case study of sample tourism regions of Shemiranat city)

Tourism regions are among the most important resources for the development of the tourism industry. The status of Tehran province’s tourism regions shows that while twenty-nine tourism regions have been designated in the province, none of them are operationalized. Therefore, considering the significance of investment in such regions, this study sought to identify the factors involved in promoting and/or hindering investments in tourism regions of the province (those located in Shemiranat city). To this end, the required data for this applied survey study were collected via a questionnaire. According to the results of the study, the factors mentioned above could be divided into four categories: “policy and regulations”, “preparatory studies”, “financial support”, and “knowledge promotion and capacity building”. In this regard, the highest mean among the inhibiting factors belonged to the disharmony between executive bodies, lack of regulations regarding the time required for the issuance of relevant permits by the competent authorities and organizations, the risk of inflation, and lack of well-trained managers and employees. As for the success factors, the highest mean was related to factors such as submitting the management of tourism regions to qualified people, the necessity of conducting comprehensive risk studies before deciding to hand over the project, creating support and development funds to provide sustainable resources for granting loans and facilities and fostering cooperation between the local community and investors.