Proposing a Model for Religious Tourism Development: Evidence from Iran

This study proposes a model for religious tourism as one of the most promising types of tourism worldwide, by focusing on the conditions of Iran as a potentially popular destination for religious tourism. The study relies on a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) method. The qualitative phase identifies the model dimensions and strategies. To do this, practitioners and experts were interviewed and the data collected were investigated through the thematic analysis method. This process revealed four main dimensions and 18 subsidiary strategies. In the quantitative phase, the dimensions and strategies identified were arranged in a questionnaire and through the survey method, were prioritised by experts in the Iranian tourism industry. The data analysis results, based on intuitionistic fuzzy AHP, revealed that the most important dimensions in religious tourism, as assessed by experts and practitioners in the Iranian tourism industry, were: ‘marketing strategies’, ‘HR training and development’, ‘reinforcing executive management structures’, and ‘implementing information technology.’ Finally, following a comparison of the results with those of another studies in this field, some executive and research-related suggestions are proposed.