Identifying the dimensions and components affecting the formation of the image of urban destinations (case study: the holy city of Mashhad)

جغرافیاوتوسعه ناحیه ای

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 16 November 2024

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jgrd.2024.89593.1468

Authors

Ali Esmaeilzadeh Kavaki^{* 1}; arezoo momenian²; mirsallar habibi³

¹Phd in geography and urban planning - Researcher of Astan Qods Razavi Islamic Research Foundation

²Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Garmsar Technical and Engineering Faculty, Garmsar, Iran

³Mirsalar Habibi, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Sahneh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sahneh, Iran.

Abstract

Today,the development of tourism in cities is very important as a clean and growing industry. Therefore, for cities like the holy Mashhad, which have an outstanding pilgrimage aspect, it is necessary to create a complete image based on all capacities, to create the ground for converting pilgrims into tourists, in order to achieve the goals of income generation and job creation and the development of the tourism industry. Therefore, this research was conducted with the aim of identifying the dimensions and components affecting the formation of the image of urban destinations with regard to all available capacities.The present research is developmental-applied in terms of its purpose and is included in mixed research.In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with experts and thematic analysis technique were used. For this purpose, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 18 experts who were purposefully selected by snowball method. In the quantitative stage, in order to validate the model, confirmatory factor analysis method and Smart PLS software were used. For this purpose, 115 managers and experts of Mashhad Municipality, Astan Quds Razavi and the General Department of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism of Khorasan Razavi, who were selected by simple random sampling method, were asked for their opinion using a researcher-made questionnaire. Based on the findings of the theme analysis, 13 basic themes and 4 organizing themes including infrastructure, attractions, services and general characteristics of the city were identified for the destination image. Also, the findings of the quantitative part also showed that the identified variables are confirmed. Finally, the results of the research showed that in introducing the image of urban destinations such as Mashhad, other tourism capacities should be introduced in addition to prominent attractions such as the Razavi Shrine in order to provide the possibility of forming a more complete and realistic image.

Keywords

Tourism management; urban tourism; destination image; holy Mashhad