Analysis of the Stability of the Tourism Indicators as the Key Core of the Service Sector of East Azarbaijan Province

اقتصاد و توسعه منطقه ای

Article 4, Volume 30, Issue 26, February 2024, Pages 87-123   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/erd.2023.84582.1200

Authors

Zeinab Baradaran Khanian^{* 1}; Zahra Azari²; Davood Behboudi³

¹Graduated Ph. D of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Tabriz

²Ph. D student of Eonomics, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Tabriz

³Professor of Economics, University of Tabriz

Abstract

 
1- INTRODUCTION
In order to eliminate the imbalances in economic sectors, especially in developing countries, due to limited resources and emphasis on investment and allocation of capital resources to key sectors, the government adopts policies that the society has the ability to implement. This causes more attention to the sectors with higher priority for investment. Considering the very high share of services in recent years, investment in this sector, in addition to economic growth, provides the necessary resources for investment in other economic sectors. Hirschman believes that economic development is a continuous process that is created by the growth of the leading sector and the establishment of connections between this sector and other economic sectors. Since the share of the service sector in GDP and employment has always been higher than other sectors of the economy in recent years, the service sector has been identified as a large or strategic or dominant sector in the country. In recent years, investment in this sector, in addition to economic growth, has provided the necessary resources for investment in other economic sectors and has acted as a leading sector in Iran's economy.
On the other hand, not paying attention to the talents and potential possibilities of Iran and its provinces, among other things, has faced serious challenges to development. East Azarbaijan province has not been exempt from this problem with its unique natural and human facilities that can stimulate development in different sectors. According to the material presented about the contribution of the service sector as a productive and profitable sector in the economy and the position of its sub-sectors in the economic and social system of countries including Iran, recognizing and explaining the current situation of the country's provinces and accordingly, East Azerbaijan province is one of the most important and influential provinces in the economic growth and development of the country, and as the pole of the northwest region and having unique natural and human resources that can stimulate development in various sectors, it has great importance.
 
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
For the first time, Peru (1968) proposed another group of theories in economic literature, which are known as growth pole theories. In Peru's theory, simultaneous growth does not occur everywhere, but occurs at points or poles of development that have high attraction power. In developing countries, it is not possible to develop all economic sectors at the same time. In the initial stages of the formation of the pole, although the activities are concentrated in the center of the pole and cause aggravation of imbalances and imbalances, but the supporters of this theory believe that after the formation of the pole, the diffusion stage comes and during those positive effects flow to the surrounding environment. Therefore, according to this theory, there is a need to identify the key sectors of developing societies in order to prioritize them.
 
3- METHODOLOGY
The first part of the present research was conducted in terms of the purpose of the evaluation type and from the perspective of the method in a descriptive and analytical manner and based on qualitative data, the data was collected by a survey method through the distribution of questionnaires. Multi-sector analysis (MSA) has been used to examine the key core of the service sector of East Azarbaijan province. In the second part of the methodology, according to the indicators mentioned in the theoretical foundations for the sustainable development of tourism, it is possible to obtain a complete assessment of the level of access to each of these indicators in East Azerbaijan province, which is the main step in answering this question. What is the state of the province in each of the indicators related to the development of sustainable tourism? To extract the value of the identified indicators, using the Cochran sampling method, the sample size was estimated to be 384 people. After designing the questionnaire tool and verifying its validity using the content and form method, by distributing the questionnaire, field data was collected by random sampling method from among the residents of different regions of East Azarbaijan province, and in the next stage, the indicators were used using Python software and scaled and standardized between zero and one as follows.
 
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
In this study, using multi-sector analysis, tourism has been identified as the key core and the most effective service sub-sector of East Azerbaijan province. Examining the indicators related to sustainability, which includes 5 economic, social, environmental, cultural and social dimensions, shows that the level of sustainability of tourism on a macro scale is 0.256 of one unit. This means that despite the existing attractions and potentials in the province, this sector has not found its proper place and is far from achieving sustainability. Also, the examination of the status of the five indices shows that the environmental index with a score of 0.299 of the unit has the highest score among other indices, while the social index with a score of 0.166 is one of the lowest.
 
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
According to the findings of the study, it can be said that in order to improve and develop indicators related to sustainable tourism in the province, it is necessary to continue the current programs and activities related to the sustainable development of tourism, and those responsible should focus more on two economic and social components. Because, first of all, tourism can create jobs if it is sustainable, and if the stated goals are achieved, sustainable tourism can provide opportunities for employment and income for local residents and the development of infrastructure structures to enable sustainable development. Therefore, in the future research, it is suggested to develop tourism sustainability strategies in East Azarbaijan province.

Keywords

sustainable tourism; MSA analytical model; Python programming environment; East Azerbaijan province

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