Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

The spatial organization representation of tourism destinations based on supply chain case study: moham mad abad - zarr ingol area ( City Ali abad katuool)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Associate Professor of Geography and Rural Planning, Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Geography Sciences, Kharazmi University, Iran-Tehran
2 Ph.D in Geography and Rural Planning. Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction

Today, the tourism industry is one of the most important and dynamic service industries in the world, which has a wide impact on economic, social and cultural dimensions. This industry plays a vital role in the global economy by creating employment, earning foreign exchange, developing rural areas and reducing migration. In the meantime, rural tourism is recognized as one of the axes of rural development policies in the European Union by diversifying income sources, developing the economy of deprived areas and strengthening social ties. Rural tourism, as a complex activity, has many commonalities with other economic and social sectors and requires a systemic approach. In modern management teachings, coordination and inter-organizational interactions are considered a key factor for gaining competitive advantage and sustainable development of tourism.This perspective, known as tourism supply chain management, helps improve the performance of the industry through effective interaction between organizations. Supply chain management, especially in the tourism sector, is a fundamental strategy for improving competitive advantage and regional development This style of management moves from open interactions to seamless coordination between the organizations involved and aims to effectively run supply chain operations in a tourist destination to meet the needs of tourists and realize the common goals of the organizations. due to the complex nature of interactions in tourism, supply chain management plays an important role in coordination among different stakeholders and provides the necessary platform for improving performance and sustainable development. The tourism supply chain includes a network of public and private organizations that engage in activities such as gambling, lodging, and tourism product supply. tourism regional planning as a key tool for spatial organization and sustainable development is very important for shaping and developing the supply chain. regional analysis can play an important role in recognition of weight variables on tourist attraction ability. rural tourism, which has a certain complexity, has been studied less than supply chain perspective based on network model. this issue remains constant due to the proliferation of services, the synchroni zation of production and consumption, and the change of supply chain structure from linear to network models. in this regard, as mentioned, the network approach provides a suitable platform for tourism development; an approach that includes the principles such as weaving, weaving flow, and adding and ending bonds, especially for small tourism donors who are looking for survival and development, creates new possibilities. the realization of a network space organization based on tourism supply chain requires the identification of existing rings and donors in the space domain. this paper relies on a theoretical "network - based" approach and supply chain management to provide a model of spati ally net worked organization in the region of persian - zarr ingol (City Ali abad katuool) Provi des. this area is of persian rural tourism area that due to the various natural, historical and cultural attractions, the proximity to urban centers, the existence of pig workshops and agricultural products, has high potential for tourism. adding, lack of appropriate infrastructure, lack and un balanced distribution of welfare services (such as wag ering, catering, treatment, etc.) and weakness of spatial interactions between wag ering and tourism destinations are important issues in this area. this feature has had a negative impact on employment and socio - economic well - being of rural areas. however, in the tourism industry, the quality of facilities access management and services, with an efficient spatial pattern based on supply chain, has an important role in tourist’s satisfaction and development realization. Based on this plan and the stated key objective, this paper seeks to answer this key question:
spatial organization pattern is a network based on tourism supply chain in the persian - zarr ing gol region?
 

Methodology

The present study is based on an applied objective and in terms of quantitative research method, it is based on deductive logic. The statistical population of the study includes 20 rural tourism destinations (Vaizsar, Rig Cheshme, Tavir, Cheli Alia, Cheli Sofli, Mahian, Kholin Darreh, Narso, Elstan, Gno, Gharib Abad, Che Ja, Siah Marzkouh, Zarrin Gol, Chino, Khak Pirzan, Shirin Abad, Afratakhte, Siah Rood Bar, Mian Rastagh) in Mohammad Abad-Zarrin Gol district located in Ali Abad Katol city. Due to the nature of the research, sampling was not carried out. Therefore, all destinations were investigated. Of course, due to the nature of the problem, 15 experts were selected for interviews using purposive sampling. Documentary and field methods, questioning and interview techniques were used to collect information. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by examining experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.893). Gis software was used to draw maps.
 

Results

The findings of the research showed that in the rural tourism destinations of Mohammadabad-Zarringol district, 6 attraction factors, accommodation services, transportation services, catering services, tourism-related businesses and advertising are the six hierarchical links of the tourism system supply, among which, the attraction factor had a suitable performance, advertising factors and tourism-related businesses had a somewhat suitable performance, and the accommodation, catering and transportation factors had an inappropriate performance. Also, the spatial division based on the capacities of villages - based on the tourism supply chain - has directed the spatial organization pattern from a polar pattern based on the role of the two cities of Fazelabad and Aliabad towards a multi-center pattern with the role of villages.
 

Discussion

According to the research findings, in the rural tourism destinations of Mohammadabad-Zarringol district, 6 attraction factors, accommodation services, transportation services, catering services, tourism-related businesses and advertising are the six hierarchical links of the tourism system supply, among which, the attraction factor had a suitable performance, advertising factors and tourism-related businesses had a somewhat suitable performance, and the accommodation, catering and transportation factors had an inadequate performance. Also, the spatial division based on the capacities of villages - based on the tourism supply chain - has directed the spatial organization pattern from a polar pattern based on the role of the two cities of Fazelabad and Aliabad towards a multi-center pattern with the role of villages.Therefore, based on the research findings, giving importance to increasing the functional role of the region's tourism destination villages in interaction with urban centers to provide upstream tourism services to the region's villages; also creating and strengthening (especially qualitative)tourism services (catering, accommodation, etc.) in the region; encouraging people to participate in the development of various tourism equipment and facilities; strengthening human capital in rural areas; creating and strengthening a suitable spatial pattern of the tourism supply chain in the region (for sustainable tourism development) in tourism destinations; can contribute significantly to the further development of tourism destination villages in the studied region.
 

Conclusion

In rural tourism destinations of Mohammadabad-Zarringol district, 6 attraction factors, accommodation services, transportation services, catering services, tourism-related businesses and advertising are the six ranked circles of tourism system supply, among which, attraction factor had a suitable performance, advertising factors and tourism-related businesses had a somewhat suitable performance, and accommodation services, catering services and transportation services had an inappropriate performance. Mohammadabad-Zarringol district, except in three circles where the role of Fazelabad and Aliabad cities (in providing superior services) has the necessary competitive advantage for tourism development with emphasis on the role of rural settlements. This feature has presented a different spatial representation.The spatial division of labor based on the capacities of villages shifts the spatial organization pattern from a polar pattern based on the roles of the two cities of Fazelabad and Aliabad to a multi-center pattern. In this pattern, the division of labor based on the principle of complementarity. between villages, each with its own geographical and functional capacities and advantages, provides the basis for an integrated tourism network. In this pattern, villages that excel in one area (e.g., accommodation or handicrafts) take a leading role and, by providing their services to the system, take on a complementary role for villages with lower capacities. Such a pattern will lead to continuous interaction, exchange of information, and facilitate tourists' access to all parts of the region's tourism supply chain, leading to sustainable economic, cultural, and social development.
Keywords

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