Desert Tourism in Iran: Challenges and Prospects

Iran is ranked fifth in the world in terms of its natural attractions and is ranked tenth in the world for her ancient attractions. Meanwhile, more than two thirds of the country are affected by the warm and dry climate that produces magnificent desert landscape. Desert tourism is a growing mode of tourism and is rapidly expanding where ever the resources are available. This research revolves around a question, Why Iran? Notwithstanding its potentials have not enabled it to compete or attract desert tourists in comparison to destinations with similar resources. This study when applied to a quantitative method in order to investigate existing desert tourism while administering a survey to staff and managers that desert tourism segments are experiencing. The aim is to reveal the factors of the full growth of desert tourism in Iran. For this purpose, 131 respondents were surveyed that were randomly selected. Survey questionnaires contain 35 items and categorized into four main sections. Management and planning infrastructure, economics and socio-cultural Elements. Cronbach's alpha method was used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire. The SPSS 25.0.0.0 version was utilized for the purpose of data analysis. The results revealed that the main challenges for desert tourism are inadequate infrastructure, lack of productive planning strategies, and lack of knowledge of desert tourism, its specific challenges, and inadequate public sector support. Keywords: desert tourism, desert tourism challenges, role of public sector, desert tourism strategy, desert tourism in Iran.