Morteza Ahmadi; Mahmood Ziaee; Reza Vaezi; Gholam Reza Kazemian; Fatemeh Yavarigohar
Abstract
Abstract
One of the practical issues leading to the success or failure of tourism development plans is the type of rationality that dominates the country’s planning system in each era and the corresponding planning theory. This article has been compiled to analyze the position of rationality in ...
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Abstract
One of the practical issues leading to the success or failure of tourism development plans is the type of rationality that dominates the country’s planning system in each era and the corresponding planning theory. This article has been compiled to analyze the position of rationality in planning as an epistemological framework in Iran’s strategic tourism development plan. This research’s conceptual framework of rationality is based on Alexander’s Rationality Model (2000) and the new approaches to tourism planning. The philosophical paradigm of the study is based on interpretive epistemology, and its methodology is based on qualitative research. Archival Studies and Thematic Analysis methods have been used for gathering and analyzing data in this research. The study’s statistical population for the content analysis comprises the qualitative texts of Iran’s strategic tourism development plan. The findings of this research indicate that, for the first time, coordinative rationality has become dominant in Iran’s strategic tourism development plan (Approved in 2020). The components of rationality were recognized, and the share of each type of rationality was outlined by analyzing 85 themes and thematic networks in the strategic plan in this research.
Keywords: Tourism Planning, Rationality, Strategic Plan, Thematic Analysis, Tourism Development in Iran.
Introduction
The concept of tourism planning and its approaches have changed during the seven recent decades. The type of rationality corresponding to planning theory that dominates in each era greatly affected the nature of tourism development. In its early development until the 1940s, many scholars have contended that tourism grew without palpable planning (Inskeep,1991; Pearce,1989; Tosun & Jenkins,1998). Tourism was developed based on market mechanisms, and tourism planning was infrequent (Fitri and colleagues (2020). Reviewing the tourism literature indicates that during the 1950s and 1960s, tourism planning prevailed based on positivism, rationalism and instrumental rationality, physical planning, economically-oriented professionalism, and top-down planning. New approaches of planning theory, such as communicative planning, sustainable planning and integrative planning with the features of participative and bottom-up planning, initiated to emerge after the 1970s and 1980s so that gradually community-based tourism, ecotourism, responsible tourism, alternative tourism and sustainable tourism came into existence. The government approved the strategic plan for tourism development in Iran in 2020 in line with the 6th Five Year Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan for I.R of Iran (2017-2021). The present research investigates the type of rationality that dominates the mentioned strategic plan for tourism development using thematic analysis.
Materials and Methods
This study considers various approaches for tourism planning in line with the development planning system in Iran over the last seven decades. The position of rationality in the strategic tourism development plan in Iran (Approved by the Government Cabinet in 2020) is investigated in this research by applying thematic analysis. The study’s statistical population comprises the qualitative text of Iran’s strategic tourism development plan. Two methods comprising Archival Studies and Thematic Analysis were used. The first one applied to recognizing the components of rationality in tourism planning and introducing the theoretical foundations of this research. The second determines the type of rationality dominant to the plan. Regarding thematic analysis approaches (Braun & Clarke,2006; Attride- Stirling,2001; Boyatzis,1998), the phases considered in this research were: Data Familiarization, Code Generating, Theme Recognizing, Thematic Networks Drawing and finally, Analysis of Thematic Networks.
Discussion and Results
The tourism planning system in Iran has experienced various tourism development plans since the 1970s. The first master plan for tourism development in Iran was prepared by a foreign company called Tourist Consult in 1972 in line with the 4th national development plan for Iran (1968-1972), during the era of instrumental rationality dominance on tourism planning in the world. Investigating the types of rationality applied in the strategic plan (2020) for tourism development in Iran revealed three main themes emphasized in the plan. They were as follows:
Integration of tourism with the national macro policies,
Determination of duties and role of various related government organizations for tourism development (24 organizations),
Cooperation and participation of related organizations and tourism stakeholders.
Conclusions
This study revealed that the dominant type of rationality in Iran’s strategic plan for tourism development approved by the government cabinet in 2020 is coordinative rationality, which is for the first time taking place. One of the challenges for this plan recognized in the research is the lack of consideration for the private sector’s and local communities’ role in tourism development. Regarding the findings of this research, the following are suggested:
Applying various types of rationality in the process of tourism planning for Iran that can be manifested in coordinative planning.
Reforming the system of tourism planning in a way that various types of rationality can be applied in all planning phases, including the process of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
