The Study of Guilds’ Support for Tourism Development in Qom Province and the Factors Influencing it

Abstract
The support of local communities plays a pivotal role in fostering and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the tourism industry in destination areas. Within local communities, business owners represent a critical group, whose endorsement of tourism development holds substantial significance. Evaluating the extent of their support and identifying the underlying determinants can provide invaluable insights for policymakers and planners, thus facilitating more effective tourism development strategies. This study seeks to assess the current state of support extended by business owners towards tourism development and to explore the factors influencing this support through the perspectives of tourism experts. To achieve these objectives, the research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews as the primary method for data collection. Thematic analysis, facilitated by Atlas. It software, was conducted to interpret the data. The results reveal that the support provided by business owners for tourism development in the province is both imbalanced and inadequate. The factors influencing this support can be categorized into themes such as the identity-related characteristics of business owners, the degree and nature of their participation in tourism-related activities, and the extent of benefits they derive from tourism. These factors can further be analyzed based on their avoid ability or inevitability. Avoidable issues, such as imbalanced participatory patterns and unequal distribution of benefits, which hinder balanced and sustainable tourism development, can be mitigated through strategic and informed policymaking. The study concludes by offering actionable recommendations aimed at addressing these challenges and enhancing business owners’ support for tourism development. 
Keywords: Support for Tourism Development, Business Owners, Tourism Stakeholders, Human-Centered Development.
 
1. Introduction
Business communities are integral stakeholders in the sustainable development of tourism, playing a crucial role in driving innovation, maintaining ethical standards, and engaging in meaningful interactions with tourists. By actively involving business owners in decision-making processes and ensuring a fair distribution of benefits, the tourism industry can also stimulate business prosperity. These roles extend beyond mere livelihood generation, underscoring the strategic significance of business owners in community-based tourism development (Blato et al., 2022: 315).
Although Qom is recognized as a prominent tourism destination in Iran, no prior research has explored the factors influencing business owners’ support for tourism development within the province. Understanding these factors is paramount for the sector’s sustainable growth. Identifying the key drivers can enable policymakers to design targeted strategies to engage business owners in tourism development. While international studies have addressed similar issues, these factors must be contextualized to the unique circumstances of each region. This study fills this gap by examining business owners’ participation in tourism development in Qom, while also analyzing the factors shaping their involvement with insights from local experts. The findings aim to inform policies that enhance the role of business owners in promoting sustainable tourism development in the province.
 
2. Materials and Methods
The research adopts a qualitative approach, which is particularly suited to the research problem and objectives. To collect data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with tourism experts from Qom province. The study’s population includes tourism researchers, university professors specializing in tourism and managers of tourism-related sectors. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select 18 participants. It is important to note that all participants were required to have a minimum of 10 years of experience in the tourism sector and hold an advanced academic degree (Master’s, PhD, or higher) in tourism or a related field. Thematic analysis was used as the data analysis method.
3. Data
The analysis of the data uncovered two principal findings. First, according to the experts, the level of support provided by business owners for tourism development remains insufficient and imbalanced. Second, the factors influencing this support can be classified into themes such as occupational identity, place identity, the extent and nature of participation in tourism-related activities, and the degree of benefit derived from tourism. From a policymaking perspective, these factors can be categorized into avoidable and unavoidable issues. One of the avoidable issues identified is the exclusive participatory model and its associated challenges. Another key concept is the “Unbalanced Perception,” which encompasses two dimensions: the disproportionate perception of tourism impacts and the quality of life among business owners. While occasional unbalanced perceptions of the effects of tourism may be inevitable and not inherently problematic, perceptions resulting from exclusive participatory models and poor management practices can lead to insufficient, imbalanced support and, in some cases, resistance from the local community toward tourism development. Inadequate tourism management practices, according to participants, can be characterized by two key issues: non-participatory management of tourism impacts and the arbitrary enforcement of laws and regulations related to participation. These factors contribute to the insufficient and imbalanced support for tourism development, which can be classified as avoidable. Furthermore, marginalization, specifically concerning the inequitable distribution of tourism benefits, emerges as another avoidable factor. Among the unavoidable factors, the divergent identity dimensions between business sectors and the factors arising from them are crucial. Occupational identity and place identity are two key identity dimensions within the studied group, and both vary across different sectors. According to some participants, the more directly and inherently connected a profession is to tourism, the greater the support from business owners in that sector will be.
 
4. Discussion
The data analysis indicates that tourism experts in the province perceive an increase in the level of support for tourism development by business owners compared to previous years. However, they also believe that the support has not yet reached a level of significant growth and prosperity, remaining marked by imbalances and insufficiency. The study highlights several key factors influencing the current state of support, including participatory elements, imbalanced perceptions, poor tourism management, inequitable benefits, marginalization, and differing identity dimensions. All of these factors are intrinsically linked to the existing participatory models. As the findings suggest, the factors influencing business owners’ support for tourism development are closely related to the current participatory frameworks. Therefore, future research should focus on developing optimal participatory models for tourism, drawing on the expertise of specialists in the field. Additionally, given the undeniable importance of understanding the factors influencing residents’ and business owners’ support for tourism, it is recommended that future studies involve business owners directly in the analysis of these factors.
 
5. Conclusion
The findings of the study indicate that the factors influencing the current state of support are derived from both avoidable and unavoidable causes. The avoidable factors can be mitigated through effective, well-structured policy-making. Consequently, it can be argued that the implementation of an inclusive participatory model, through careful and informed policymaking, can lead to more effective, balanced, and sufficient support by fostering a framework for equitable distribution of tourism benefits, addressing social exclusion, and promoting a positive perception of tourism development.