Explaining the Attractions and Justifying Capacities of Tourism’s Position in the Urban Development Planning Studies System in the Contemporary Period (Case Study: Tabriz Metropolis)

Abstract

In recent decades, the role of tourism in the process of urban development has increased. The impact of tourism on socio-economic growth motivates the study of tourism development in the process of urban planning projects. Tourism potentially plays a significant role in promoting sustainable development, particularly through its economic and socio-cultural impacts. The positive role of tourism in local development and cultural heritage should be reinforced through urban planning and urban development projects. The aim of this study is to explain the attractions and justifying capacities of tourism’s position in the urban development planning studies system in the contemporary period in the metropolis of Tabriz. The research method used in this study is descriptive-analytical and exploratory. The statistical population consists of urban experts, with a sample size of 30 experts selected through purposive sampling. A qualitative method was used for data analysis, and the qualitative data were analyzed using Atlas.ti software. The results of the study showed that the lack of attention to implementation in planning is a factor that makes projects non-ideal, abstract, and ultimately unrealistic. One of the fundamental deficiencies in urban development plans is the separation between the process of preparing the plans and their implementation process, in such a way that the responsibility for preparing the plans and the responsibility for implementing them are usually assigned to two different and separate entities. Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that one of the reasons for the lack of growth in the urban tourism industry is the absence of a link between urban tourism capacities and potentials and urban development plans. The results of this study can serve as an empirical basis at the macro level for linking these two categories and lead to a better redistribution of tourists to secondary tourism destinations in the country. In this regard, the present article, with a fresh perspective on urban development plans, seeks to provide a new review of these plans and their tourism-oriented structure by adding a section called tourism.