No abstract

No abstract

Cognitive structures of Iranian senior tourists towards domestic tourism destinations: a means-end chain approach.

Iranian tourism industry -despite enormous potentials -has faced a number of challenges including wide ranging nuclear related sanctions, negative imagery in the west and lack of effective management of resources. The aim of this paper is to focus on the perspectives of Iranian tourism suppliers who have a crucial role in the development and success of the tourism industry in the country. The findings of this paper are based on interviews conducted in Iran with representatives of Iranian tourism suppliers from both the public and private sector. The analysis of these interviews suggests that tourism suppliers face two major challenges: (1) Iran's negative imagery in the West and (2) lack of resources to tackle this negative discourse.This paper also provides an overview of the potential future opportunities which the recently forged nuclear agreement could present for Iranian tourism suppliers.

Since the implementation day of the Iran nuclear agreement, on 14 July 2015, and the subsequent softening of international sanctions against the country, Iran's tourism industry has experienced considerable advancements. This is evident through the notable increase in inbound arrivals to the country, particularly from the Western markets, and foreign investment in tourism-related infrastructure. The election of Donald Trump as the 45th United States president and his chaotic and controversial (or indeed lack of clear) foreign policy, however, has cast serious doubt on the future of the nuclear agreement. This paper aims to: (1) explore some of the positive impacts that the Iran nuclear deal has had on tourism development in Iran, over the past two years; and (2) provide an overview of possible future challenges, particularly in relation to Donald Trump's new aggressive foreign policy towards Iran.

Purpose This study aims to provide a better understanding of how information technology (IT) competency and knowledge management (KM) contribute to service supply chain (SSC) (coordination, collaboration and efficiency) practices in the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on tourism businesses, this study tests the structural relationships of IT competency, KM and SSC. Structural equation modeling is performed to test the hypotheses. A survey of 494 hotels in Iran provided empirical evidence for the existence of interrelationships between multiple constructs. Findings The analysis demonstrated that IT competency is significantly associated with KM. Furthermore, SSC practices are found to be directly impacted by KM and IT competency. Originality/value This study unpacks the mechanism that operates between IT competency, KM and SSC and contributes to the academic research on SSC in the context of the hospitality industry.

This paper reports a study of the Manesht and Ghelarang protected area in Iran. The study sought to identify ways in which sustainable tourism policies could be generated that aid the natural and human environments. From surveys and questionnaires completed by tourists, residents and officials, an initial set of 10 areas of weakness, 9 strengths and 6 opportunities were identified. Using these classifications combined with mapping techniques that included maps of topography and flora, a subsequent TOPSIS analysis identified potential future policies that require infrastructure development and reinforced pro-environmental policies to address the problems currently being experienced.

The declining water level in Lake Urmia has become a significant issue for Iranian policy and decision makers. This lake has been experiencing an abrupt decrease in water level and is at real risk of becoming a complete saline land. Because of its position, assessment of changes in the Lake Urmia is essential. This study aims to evaluate changes in the water level of Lake Urmia using the space-borne remote sensing and GIS techniques. Therefore, multispectral Landsat 7 ETM+ images for the years 2000, 2010, and 2017 were acquired. In addition, precipitation and temperature data for 31 years between 1986 and 2017 were collected for further analysis. Results indicate that the increased temperature (by 19%), decreased rainfall of about 62%, and excessive damming in the Urmia Basin along with mismanagement of water resources are the key factors in the declining water level of Lake Urmia. Furthermore, the current research predicts the potential environmental crisis as the result of the lake shrinking and suggests a few possible alternatives. The insights provided by this study can be beneficial for environmentalists and related organizations working on this and similar topics.