Document Type : Research Article
Authors
Department of Urban Planning, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
Abstract
A B S T R A C T
The current research was conducted to explain the principles of urban tourism development in Kelardasht city. This research is of applied type, and in terms of nature and method, it is survey and exploratory. The data collection method includes library and field methods, the data collection tool is a questionnaire, the respected professors and advisors have confirmed the questionnaire's validity, and the questionnaire's reliability is 0.872 based on Cronbach's alpha, which shows good internal reliability of the questionnaire. The statistical population in this research is all the tourists of Kelardasht; based on Cochran's formula, 384 samples were selected, distributed, and collected among tourists by non-probability sampling method. In addition, SPSS software (arithmetic mean tests and paired t-test) was used for data analysis. The findings of the research have shown that in the prioritization of tourism development dimensions in Kelardasht city, it has been determined that the dimension of political development and extraterrestrial documents, with an average difference of -2.44983, has the highest priority among the five dimensions investigated. After that, other dimensions in the order of importance based on pairwise differences are the management and infrastructure dimension (-1.48865), economic and capital dimension (-1.34430), environmental and natural dimension (-1.19094), and social and cultural dimension (-0.85110), which respectively have the most significant role in the development of urban tourism in Kelardasht city. The results have shown that one of the effective factors in developing Kelardasht tourism is strengthening tourism infrastructure, including natural attractions (unique landscape and climate, high peak, roaring river, etc.).
Extended abstract
Introduction
In the process of globalization, cities rely on their various capabilities to improve the lives of their residents. At the same time, they will be centers for attracting other people on a national and international scale. Kelardasht city in Mazandaran province is one of the tourist destinations in Iran that attracts thousands of domestic and foreign tourists every year. Tourists who enter Kelardasht consist of several categories, which include ecotourists (including mountaineers and organizers of car tours in the surrounding forests), those who benefit from the suitable climate of Kelardasht, those who are interested in historical attractions such as palaces, ancient sites, and similar cases, those interested in rural ecosystems, etc. are among the most important of these tourists. Kelardasht city is a space for urban tourists who visit the city based on their tastes, or it is a space for entering, getting the necessary supplies, and even staying for tourists who have entered Kelardasht with a purpose other than urban tourism. Since the preparation and compilation of development plans require a needs assessment and the correct definition of its constituent elements, it is necessary to model it in line with the development of urban tourism in Kelardasht while knowing the principles and criteria of urban tourism. Order and organize urban tourism in different dimensions by preparing a specific framework. In the meantime, components such as urban tourism attractions and natural, historical, cultural, architectural, and urban pilgrimage attractions, accommodations, and facilities in and around the city are regressed. By this necessity, the main question of the research is raised in the following way:
-What is the prioritization of the dimensions of the development of urban tourism in Kelardasht?
Methodology
This research is applied, and in terms of nature and method, it is survey and exploratory. The method of collecting information in this research includes library and field methods; the most important tool
in data collection is the researcher's self-made questionnaire; the respected professors and advisors and the reliability of the research questionnaires have confirmed the validity of the questionnaire. Also, based on Cronbach's alpha, it is equal to 0.872, which shows the good internal reliability of the questionnaire. The statistical population in this research is made up of all the tourists of Kelardasht, and due to the lack of accurate information on the number of tourists, based on Cochran's formula, 384 samples were selected, which were distributed and collected among tourists by non-probability sampling method. In addition, SPSS software (arithmetic mean tests and paired t-test) was used for data analysis.
Results and discussion
In the t-test of paired (dependent) samples, the investigated criteria are examined at two points. In this test, the difference between the averages of the attributes is evaluated. In the t-test with paired samples, each urban tourism development criteria in Kelardasht city has been observed twice in two different situations (the current situation of Kelardasht city and the rate of tourism development in case of implementation of the indicators). Based on this, the research hypothesis is based on the existing difference in the status of urban tourism development criteria in Kelardasht city, two times before (existing situation) and after implementing the indicators. As it is understood from the prioritization of urban tourism development criteria in Kelardasht based on pairwise differences, among the 17 criteria that are considered for urban tourism development in Kelardasht, political development and foreign relations with differences even numbers (average difference) (-2.83281) are in the highest priority for carrying out corrective or effective measures and operations in the development of tourism; first of all, in the current situation, the indicators of political development and foreign relations are in poor and weak conditions, and if the indicators defined in it are implemented, the development of tourism in the country and consequently in Kelardasht will flourish. This will also be exemplified in the criterion of compilation of extra-hand documents with paired differences (average difference) (-2.06684), which is in second place in this ranking. On the other hand, the lowest possible difference, which shows the relatively good condition of the indicators, or less impact in the case of the implementation of these indicators in the development of Kelardasht tourism, including the criteria of social and cultural resources and infrastructures with paired differences (mean difference) -0.74826) and education to citizens and tourists with pairwise differences (mean difference) (-0.35243) which are in the 16th and 17th ranks. Other criteria include services and infrastructure, development of urban tourism vision, investment in urban tourism, integrated urban management, display of events and events, improvement of natural and environmental conditions, advertising and marketing, and creating a balance between resources and costs. The tourism industry, environmental sustainability, the spatiality of urban tourism, investment in urban tourism, urban image and city landscape, preservation of natural resources, and protective laws are ranked third to fifteenth, respectively.
Conclusion
In evaluating the opinion of the statistical community in the process of urban tourism development in Kelardasht (if the same indicators are implemented), the enthusiasm and special attention of tourists in this field and their positive opinion in the event of the implementation of the indicators presented in the questionnaire, including social and cultural aspects, management and infrastructural, economic and capital, environmental and natural, and political development and the documents mentioned above are indicative of the category of tourism in national and global competitive arenas. In almost all the indicators examined during the research, it is believed that planning about social and cultural resources and infrastructures, educating citizens and tourists, displaying events and happenings, integrated urban management, spatialization of urban tourism, development of urban tourism landscape, advertising and marketing, services and infrastructure, creating a balance between resources and costs of the tourism industry, investing in urban tourism, improving natural and environmental conditions, environmental sustainability, development political and foreign relations and compilation of general documents can help the development of urban tourism in Kelardasht.
Funding
There is no funding support.
Authors’ Contribution
All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.
Keywords
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