درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Religious tourism is one of the world's most critical current types of tourism, especially in Islamic countries such as Iran, which has a high potential for development and progress in this field. However, the development of this type of tourism in our country is not restricted to only religious cities but includes other cities in Iran. With its religious-pilgrimage functions, Sari city in Mazandaran province provides an appropriate ground for developing religious tourism as one of the main forms of tourism. The present research first conducted a set of observations in the region after studying library documents using the field method. After analyzing data from the observations, research questions were evaluated by organizations, experts, and the local community. The results were quantitatively examined by SWOT analysis. Finally, according to extracted concepts from qualitative and quantitative analysis, a model for the development of religious tourism was obtained based on library and field studies using interviews and then evaluated by experts. Results show that religious places of Sari city aren’t on the list of development priorities. It presents a model for development in this region with more challenges. Therefore, the qualitative and quantitative analysis results of this research imply a very appropriate situation and a high potential for religious tourism, emphasizing Imamzadeh in Sari city.

The study aims to evaluate the effective factors on creating a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad. The research method was quantitative with a structural equation model approach. The statistical population of the study was religious tourists who used the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad. A total of 388 tourists were selected as the sample by convenience sampling. The measurement tool was a modified Adamczyk 25-item questionnaire based on expert opinions, which has four subscales (intimacy, security, passion, and commitment). The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts while the construct validity was confirmed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was also obtained by more than 0.7 using Cronbach's alpha. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used. Finally, the results revealed that the components of secure and intimate bonding are the most essential elements of creating a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad, respectively. Consequently, this study emphasizes strengthening indicators such as infrastructure development, equipment, and facilities to reduce risks, using new marketing methods, protecting the tourist information, attention to the opinions, interests, and values of religious tourists, creating an intimate and social atmosphere, creating a secure and reassurance environment, etc. to create a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes.

The aim of this paper is to explore young people’s perceptions of spirituality as well as analyzing the role that spirituality plays in their wellness and travel. The work builds on previous studies that examined young peoples’ attitudes to spirituality, as well as research that examined cross-cultural differences in understandings of spirituality. The research draws on questionnaire data (a sample of 227) that was collected in two languages from young people in Generations Y and Z aged 18-39. The questionnaire was designed in English but was also translated into Mandarin Chinese. Both generations and cultural/language groups view spirituality as more connected to the self or nature than to religion or God. Attention to religion and spirituality scored much lower than other lifestyle and wellness domains. When travelling, the desire to engage in religious and spiritual activities were also ranked low compared to other activities. The data shows that young people tend to define spirituality more in relation to their own self and nature than to religion. Spirituality is ranked relatively low compared to other domains of wellness. However, although religious and spiritual motivations and benefits are ranked lower than some other experiences during travel, many young people prioritize trips that involve better connections to nature and the self, which reflects their original definitions of spirituality.

Nowadays, the generated and shared content on tourist perceptions in social media is considered a fresh and far-reaching way to introduce the concept of the destination image. Destination decision-makers attempt to use this content to provide a deep understanding of tourism supply and demand. Marketers have to be particular about it when defining a proper destination image. In this regard, many researchers have emphasized the importance of using social media to tap into tourists’ perceptions of destination because it not only helps to deepen the administrators’ understanding of the demands of this type of tourism and to propose new approaches to determine the customers’ preferences in destination marketing but also directs new products and services to satisfy the tourists to a greater extent. Depending on the type of tourism, the contexts and criteria for this kind of virtual investigation are different. For example, in cultural destinations, tourists’ perceptions of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and services and products offered in virtual contexts are regarded as a tool to assess the tourists’ perceptions of that destination. The present study assumes that a holistic approach toward the analysis of tourist perception in the virtual sphere could be a well-qualified alternative to determine tourists’ wants in cultural destinations. Content analysis, which is a practical method in analyzing visual and textual data and  therefore is quite pertinent to the analysis of tourist perceptions, was adopted as the data analysis instrument in this study. To collect the data, two frequently-visited and widely-used websites with easy access to tourists’ comments, namely TripAdvisor and Flickr , were selected so that tourists’ experiences and perceptions could be gathered more authentically and conveniently. The findings demonstrated that the analysis of perceived authenticity of cultural destinations in Iran could provide the content required to create a destination image for purposeful marketing in Iran. Perceived Authenticity was categorized into three main themes: emotional, sensational, and rational.

Nowadays, when excessive attention to the material issues and the homogeneity of societies does not meet the rebellious and human spirit, and amid successive runs, it seems that man is looking for a destination other than bread and shelter, a higher excuse to survive. The need to discover the truth and meaning of existence compels man to glorify his immaterial and spiritual dimension by seeking the path of cognition. Understanding spirituality and its history is a significant concept worth exploring from a social and personal perspective. This research was done using the qualitative grounded theory method to present the idea of spirituality in tourism, relying on Eastern philosophy and international codes of ethics, and performing different techniques such as studying various texts and using the expert’s opinion. The results of this research can be interpreted in such a way that the individual  dimension includes: internal and mystical connection, human interaction in the universe and superior power, guiding principles in understanding truth and meaning of life, and social dimension including each person's cognitive system and its impact on man's attitude and perceptions of his life and behaviors, determining the tolerable capacity of the environment and environmental assessment, protection of cultural identity and indigenous subcultures. Recognition and perception of spirituality in tourism express spirituality, which is done by emphasizing self-creation and action related to the Creator of the world.  

Hajj pilgrimage is one of the divine duties that is held every year by pilgrims. In addition to the jurisprudential issues of Hajj, the pilgrimage of Hajj has many individual, social, and political effects. This pilgrimage provides an opportunity for the pilgrims to gain spirituality. Anther role of Hajj is to create a platform for Muslims around the world to get to know each other. Professor Morteza Motahhari, as an Islamic thinker, believes that Hajj pilgrimage has great potentials for creating spirituality among Muslim societies. There is an international place (Kaaba) that belongs to all the believers of the world and also the same religious identity of the pilgrims of this holy house and some of the practices of this pilgrimage have the capacity to create real unity among Muslims. This research tries to study the role and position of Hajj pilgrimage in Professor Morteza Motahhari's thoughts by descriptive-analytical method and review the capacities of Hajj pilgrimage in creating spirituality from the perspective of Professor Morteza Motahhari.