Journal of Urban Studies on Space and Place

The challenges of Isfahan Travel Services Coordination Headquarters to become a Tourism Destination Management Organization (DMO)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Abbas Kiani Babukani 1
Shaghayegh Nasiri 2
Mehri Shahzeidi 3

1 MA Urban Design, Researcher, Department of Tourism Studies of City, ACECR, Isfahan Branch, Isfahan, Iran

2 Urban Planning Master Student, Researcher, Department of Tourism Studies of City, ACECR, Isfahan Branch, Isfahan, Iran

3 Research Instructor, Department of Tourism Studies of City, ACECR, Isfahan Branch, Isfahan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/jspr.2024.2028936.1065
Abstract
Cultural and historical potentials allow Isfahan to change its development path from Industry to tourism to become a destination. However, tourism development requires an agreed and joint program that creates convergence among the tourism stakeholders. So, each sector's actions align with the realization of the goals of all industries. As one of Iran's most important tourist destinations, Isfahan needs a destination management organization (DMO). In this regard, Isfahan Travel Services Coordination Headquarters (ITSCH) is one of the institutions that can take on this responsibility. This headquarters, by the trans-sectoral nature of tourism, can establish the partnership framework of almost all stakeholders and, with a function similar to a destination management organization, manage the tourism of Isfahan by considering the cultural, economic, and environmental requirements. In this regard, this research has been done by applying the qualitative method. The population of this research was the members of ITSCH, and they were selected using a purposeful sampling method. The collected data were analyzed through the thematic analysis technique. This research shows that a populist approach to tourism, unstructured group activity, ignoring the documentation and evaluation of processes, and advertisements with limited effectiveness are some obstacles that impede the promotion of ITSCH to destination management organizations.

Keywords

Tourism
Destination Management Organization
Travel Services Coordination Headquarters

Subjects

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