Extended Abstract
Background and Objectives: Tourism activities have wide-ranging effects in various fields, and their development relies on various factors. In small cities within deprived areas, inadequate urban facilities and infrastructure are significant barriers to reaching optimal tourism levels, leading to limitations and problems. The success of tourism development programs and the achievement of their goals depends on the presence of favorable economic, social, infrastructural, and environmental conditions. In cities lacking these favorable conditions, tourism does not flourish. Small cities, in particular, experience reduced tourism dynamics due to fewer and more limited infrastructure services compared to larger cities. Delbaran, is a small city in Qorveh County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. This city is an example of not having a dynamic tourism sector despite attractions like the nearby Babagargar Spring, vineyards, religious events such as Haleem cooking, and access to Ali-Sadr Cave. Accordingly, this study aims to analyze the obstacles to tourism development in Delbaran city and its surrounding areas and present sustainable approaches for tourism development in small cities.
Methods: The study is applied research focused on identifying the obstacles to tourism development in Delbaran City and proposing strategic solutions. A mixed-method approach (quantitative and qualitative) was employed to collect, process, and analyze data. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze relationships between research variables via Smart PLS software. Initially, a field survey was conducted by the jihadi problem-solving group of Iran’s National Elites Foundation (INEF) of Kurdistan Province to gather data on problems and limitations related to the tourism industry in Delbaran and its sphere of influence. Then, the problems and limitations were categorized into three categories: inefficiency of the economic system, weakness of infrastructures (communication and services), and weakness of socio-cultural structures. In the second step, the relationships between the problems and obstacles to tourism development were determined based on the theoretical knowledge of tourism to form the conceptual and structural model. In the third step, a Likert scale questionnaire was used to score and examine the status of the issues related to the stagnation of tourism in Delbaran City and its sphere of influence. Local elites aware of the issues in the studied city and region participated in the survey.
Findings: The results reveal a significant relationship between the “weakness of infrastructures” and “inefficiency of the economic system” factors, accounting for 94% of the stagnation in tourism activities. The inefficiency of the economic system and weak infrastructures had effect sizes of 0.401 and 0.394, respectively. While infrastructure weaknesses had a slightly smaller direct effect on tourism stagnation than economic inefficiency, its indirect effect (0.311) made it the most critical variable influencing tourism dynamics. Based on the relationships between the problems and obstacles to tourism development, three priority approaches were recommended: 1. Improvement and development of communication and service infrastructures; 2. Enhancement of the economic system; and 3. Empowerment of socio-cultural structures. Executive policies for each strategy were also proposed to achieve sustainable tourism development.
Conclusion: Many studies have mentioned tourism as an important factor influencing the economic situation in countries, but to harness its full potential, a detailed and fundamental approach is necessary to identify and address all relevant aspects. In this context, while tourism has various positive impacts across different sectors, it is also affected by economic, social, political, and other conditions. If environmental, economic, social, political, and infrastructural conditions are lacking, tourism activities will not achieve the intended positive outcomes. In small cities within deprived areas, inadequate service infrastructures and facilities hinder dynamic and prosperous tourism. The research findings highlight two key issues: 1. In deprived areas, many small cities with valuable attractions struggle to utilize their existing potential due to factors that obstruct tourism development; and 2. The second issue stresses the influence of these factors, indicating that challenges related to communication and service infrastructures not only have direct effects on tourism activities but also indirectly weaken them.