1st Edition
Tourism in Iran Challenges, Development and Issues
Iran has long been regarded as an international pariah state in some parts of the international community. However, its negative image in many countries disguises its history of tourism and rich cultural and natural heritage. Following the July 2015 nuclear deal and the reduction in sanctions, Iran is focusing on international tourism as a means to generate economic growth in addition to its substantial domestic tourism market. Given the significance of tourism in the Middle East and in international politics, as well as restrictions on international mobility, this volume brings together the first contemporary collection of research on tourism in Iran.
Written by experts based both within and outside of Iran, the chapters engage with a number of crucial issues including the importance of religion, the role of women in society, sustaining Iran’s cultural heritage, Iran’s image and the resistive economy to provide a benchmark assessment of tourism and its potential future in a troubled political environment. The book will undoubtedly be of interest not only to those readers who focus specifically on Iran but also those who seek a wider understanding of Iran’s role in the region and how tourism is utilised as part of national and regional economic development policies.
Chapter 1 Tourism in Iran: An Introduction
Siamak Seyfi and C. Michael Hall
Chapter 2 Domestic Tourism in Iran: Development, Directions and Issues
Siamak Seyfi, Adel Nikjoo & Mohammad Sharifi
Chapter 3 Sanctions, The 2015 Agreement and Iran’s Tourism Industry
Zahed Ghaderi, Sahar Soltani, Joan Henderson and Afsaneh Zareei
Chapter 4 Pilgrimage Tourism in Iran
Mahmood Ziaei & Somayeh Amiri
Chapter 5 The Mutual Relationship Between Women’s Pilgrimage Tourism and the Religious City: A Case Study of Mashhad, Iran
Nina Khamsy and Fatemeh Vossughi
Chapter 6 Mass Faith Tourism and Life Satisfaction of Residents: Evidence from Mashhad, Iran
Hossein GT Olya
Chapter 7 Cultural Heritage Management and Heritage Tourism Development in Iran: Opportunities and Challenges for the Future
F. Carbone, A. Malek & A. Lohrasbi
Chapter 8 Residents’ Perceptions Towards Heritage Tourism Development: The Case of the Historical City of Kashan, Iran
S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh and Hamid Ataeishad
Chapter 9 The Role of Socio-Cultural Events in Rebuilding Iran’s Image
Bardia Shabani and Hazel Tucker
Chapter 10 Food and Tourism in Iran
Amir Sayadabdi and Saman Hassibi
Chapter 11 Tourism and the Empowerment of Women in Iran
Banafsheh Farahani and Hamideh Dabbaghi
Chapter 12 Participatory Tourism Development in Iran: Implementing Community Based Tourism within a Migrating Nomadic Tribe
Fereshteh Fazel and Najmeh Hassanali
Chapter 13 Effects of Perceived Quality and Trust on Behavioural Intentions: An Empirical Study of Health Tourists in Mashhad, Iran
Shiva Hashemi, Masoumeh Tavangar, Azizan Marzuki, Moji Shahvali
Chapter 14 The Future(s) of Tourism in Iran
C. Michael Hall and Siamak Seyfi
Biography
Siamak Seyfi is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography at the University of Pantheon-Sorbonne, France. Using primarily qualitative and mixed methods his research interests are sustainable tourism, community development, political ecology and tourism, power and the environment.
C. Michael Hall is a Professor at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; Docent, Department of Geography, University of Oulu, Finland; and Visiting Professor, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden. He has published widely on tourism, regional development and global environmental change.
