Developing a Competitive and Sustainable Model for the Future of a Destination: Iran's Tourism Competitiveness.

As one of the most ancient and attractive tourism destinations in the Middle East and South Asia, Iran seeks to maximize its competitive identity to compete more effectively at international level. This study examines the major factors influencing Iran's competitive identity as a tourism destination from a supply-side perspective. The paper is divided into two phases using qualitative and quantitative techniques. First, we determined Iran's major competitiveness factors using thematic content analysis. Second, we examined the relationships between the identified factors, Iran's competitive identity, and its international tourism market development. The findings of this study suggest that factors including information technology, politics, products and services, spatial and infrastructure, structure and organization, economic and sociocultural factors significantly impact the destination's competitive identity. This paper also outlines the key theoretical and practical implications of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]