Spatial Classifying of Tourism Routes in Fars Province Based on Tourism Services and Facilities

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Prof. of Geography and Cartography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Prof. of Geography and Rural Planning, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

3 MA in Geography and Tourism Planning, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

4 MA student in Geography and Ecotourism, Faculty of Geography, University of Hormozgan, Hormozgan, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
No activity like tourism will be formed without appealing attractions. Most of the researchers agree that tourism attractions are the basic element for tourism development. Development of tourism activities will be impossible without appropriate tourism services because tourism services are the fundamental for tourism development. Disregarding of this issue has impeded tourism growth and will lead to dissatisfaction of tourists. Consequently, we have wasted financial, mental and emotional costs for tourists and caused their dissatisfaction. Since tourism is developed by environment, human beings and their activities in places as a local and spatial phenomenon provides the ground for spatial links between origin and destination points. Tourism processing around each geographical space is conducted in a process of compatibility of attractions, dwellings and necessary facilities. This in turn forms a process of tourism reception with understanding of tourism on one side and a deep measurement and understanding of the related spade on the other side, because the tourists may be managed better by understanding the infrastructures and by ranking them in an area. Therefore, it is very necessary to provide coordination between the number of tourists and the capacity of tourism places and especially infrastructures. Since tourism routes are parts of this space and in fact there are link between tourism spaces and the tourists, it is, therefore, necessary to identify and organize tourism routes as the fundamentals of tourism development in terms of service quality and quantity. For this reason, in order to identify, organize and plan for development of tourism routes of Fars Province, it is necessary that these routes are ranked in tourism services because as a managerial tool, this ranking can be helpful for the planners based on the capabilities of each tourism route. The role and position of the capabilities are specified and proportional to the characteristics of each of the tourism routes, loading level of physical elements. The volume of investment in the tourism zones are specified proportional to the characteristics of each of the tourism routes so that tourists can be managed better proportional to the capacity of each tourism route and also because we can meet maximum needs of this class by offering suitable services and to identify and remove the impediments of service restrictions of the routes.
 
Methodology
Based on the objective of this research, this is an applied research and based on the procedure and nature, it is a descriptive and analytical research. For the goals of this research, the effective criteria in road tourism services were firstly identified by using Delphi method and library studies and completed with the viewpoints of experts. Then, proportional to the criteria, local data of the zone were collected. After that, the weights of each of the criteria were specified after completion of pairvise comparison questionnaire by the experts using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). In the next step, Expert Choice 2000 application is used to accurately calculate the weight of research criteria. Finally, the ranking map of tourism routes in Fars Province is drawn by using the database of GIS and recovery capability, data analysis and COPRAS ranking method.
 
Results and Discussion
The present research was carried out with the goal of spatial classifying of tourism routes of Fars Province based on the services and facilities. For this reason, in the first step the criteria and indices of the research as the most important and primary process of research were conducted by the experts using Delphi technique within three steps using questionnaire. Finally, the required criteria were extracted as shown in figure 1. It should be noted that in this research the number of services and facilities are considered that are located near each of the tourism routes. For this reason, a buffer limit of about one kilometer is defined for each of the routes. The number of services in the zone has been identified due to easier access as well as tourist needs to this type of service. Moreover, for the number of cities and villages as well as tourism attractions, a buffer limit of about 3 km has been defined in that the cities and villages and also tourism attractions have potentially minimum of the services. After collection of data, the matrix that specifies the amounts of each index was formed. It should be noted that the tourism routes of the research were modeled with basic changes based on the general tourism routes of Fars Province defined by the Cultural Heritage Organization. This organization has determined 43 general tourism routes for Fars Province. In this research, 31 highly attractive routes along with the services of each of them were specified to make the research operational and applicable.
 
Table 1: weight and criteria of tourism services next to the Tourism Routes




Along the Way
 
 
0.18


Catering Services




The Complex way


Restaurant


Dining Hall




0.07


0.02


0.01




Car Service




Gas station


Kind 1


Kind 2




0.10


0.03


0.01




Business services




Sandwich


Store


Bakery




0.03


0.01


0.01




Attraction




Level of attraction


Vanity of attraction


No of attractions




0.36


0.11


0.03




 


Infrastructure




City


Rural


police


Cultural services




0.03


0.00


0.00


0.01



 
 
 
 
 
 



 
 
Conclusion
Research results indicate that tourism routes including “Shiraz-Marvdasht-Safa Shahr-Abadeh-Esfahan”, Shiraz-Marvdasht-Safa Shahr-Abadeh”, and “Shiraz-Marvdasht-Safashahr-Eghlid” which are the entrance highways for tourism from central and north zones of the country to this province. These routes have the least tourism services. On the other hand, these routes have the most transportation traffic and they have contained in themselves the most important tourism attractions such as the Shrine of Cyrus the Great, Persepolis, Naghsh-e Rostam which require the attention of the planners and experts. Moreover, tourism routes in the south of country like “Shiraz-Firooz Abad-Ghir Khanj-Gerash-Lar-Bastak”, “Shiraz-Sarvestan-Fasa-Darab-Rastagh-Haji Abad”, and “Shiraz-Akbar Abad-Jahrom-Jooyam Banarouyeh-Dehkouyeh-Lar-Harmood-Bandar Abbas” are the main tourism routes of the province. They have the minimum tourism services as well. Therefore, the results show that the more we get far from the center of the province towards the suburb towns, the less the tourism routes enjoy tourism facilities. Most of the tourists enter from the south part of the country to Fars Province, where have the minimum tourism services. Therefore, they are in the first priority for development and this requires the comprehensive attention of planners to these routes.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Human Geography Research
Volume 46, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
February 2014
Pages 561-586

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History

  • Receive Date: 24 July 2013
  • Revise Date: 12 March 2014
  • Accept Date: 11 March 2004

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