Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Allameh Tabatabaei, Tehran, Iran
2 Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran.Iran
Abstract
Tourism is one of the largest economic activities worldwide, with a significant share in employment and countries’ GDP, attracting policymakers’ attention in recent decades. According to global reports, in 2019 this industry directly and indirectly supported over 10 percent of global jobs. Iran, with its climatic diversity and rich cultural-historical heritage, has high potential to benefit from tourism. However, the development of inbound tourism is influenced by various factors whose identification can assist effective policymaking. This study, using the gravity model and panel data, examines the economic and non-economic factors affecting foreign tourist attraction to Iran from 2000 to 2020. Key variables include per capita GDP, population density, geographical distance, relative pollution, exchange rate, and linguistic and religious commonalities. Results show that per capita GDP, population density, exchange rate, and shared religion have a significant positive impact on tourist attraction with 99% confidence, and common language with 90% confidence. Geographical distance has a significant negative effect with 99% confidence, indicating that as distance increases, tourists’ willingness to travel decreases. These findings are consistent with the gravity theory of tourism. Therefore, focusing on neighboring countries with greater cultural and religious similarities and shorter distances, along with developing pilgrimage tourism, can be an effective strategy. Overall, a combination of economic and non-economic factors shapes the pattern of inbound tourism demand to Iran, and based on this, policy recommendations for sustainable development are proposed.
Keywords
- Inbound tourism development
- Gravity Model
- Panel Data approach
- General factors affecting inbound tourism development
Main Subjects
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