Sustainable Development of Tourism in Semnan City, Using the SWOT Analysis Model
Marzie Daraei *
Researcher in Geography and Urban-Tourism Planning, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran.
Masoumeh Hafez Rezazadeh
Faculty of Geography and Environmental Planning, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Tourism is a complex activity that is related to different sectors of society and economy. Nowadays, the role and importance of this industry is main factor of every developed country, so they are trying to maximize utilization of the industry. This means that one of the important indicators of the development and efficient use of this important industry in the country is determined. The land of Iran is rich in natural attractions, so that each of them alone can attract many tourists. Semnan as one of the important provinces of Iran is located on the ancient Silk Road. In addition of its historical rank, it includes a series of exquisite natural beauties, holding scenery of deserts and mountains with their own unique attractions. Despite of having very significant potential across the province of Semnan, unfortunately it has not been able to take advantage of this industry perfectly. To overcome problems, our practical-aimed research is done via descriptive-analytical approach. In this article, we have tried to examine the historical tourist attractions in Semnan with approach towards sustainable tourism development. To achieve the purpose, we tried through discussing strategic analysis of opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of Semnan tourism provide appropriate strategies for developing tourism in the city by using SWOT technique.
Keywords: Tourism, sustainable development, tourist attractions, Silk Road, SWOT.