Ethnic tourism planning: a case study of Baluchis in Iran

Abstract

World destinations are deeply impacted by tourism, while for many communities the positive impacts have flourished the socio-economical situation; there are several examples where the negative impacts have raised hostility between tourists and locals. The negative impacts are caused due to inadequate or non-existant planning framework for tourism development, therefore tourism planning is vital in order to avoid the negative impacts. While several different approaches have been advocated over the years, tourism planning based on the ethnic tourism has emerged as one of the most comprehensive approaches. Ethnic tourism responds quickly to any fundamental changes in the political and socio-economic life of Baluchis today. Ethnic tourism is to be seen from two different perspectives from that of the tourism generating countries, where according to the size, economic strength and social prestige of a particular ethnic group it can be treated as a segment of the tourism market representing an especially motivated demand for tourism services. This thesis explores the engagement of Baluch ethnic group with tourism in Iran’s Baluchistan. In one hand, through ethnic tourism planning with cooperation of stakeholders and consider the role of Baluchis as a main key stakeholders creating new platform in multi-ethnic communities to benefited from tourism and reducing conflicts and promoting peace and from other hand, Baluch ethnic group are economically poor and option for development in Iran’s Baluchistan also limited and the unique way that is possible to creating job for Baluchis is ethnic tourism. This study is set in the context of Iran's Baluchistan, an area where an exotic ethnic culture is threatened. The present study investigated how Baluchistan's ethnic and cultural uniqueness may be preserved and, indeed, integrated with the planned introduction and development of ethnic tourism. In light of this information, the research focuses on opportunities that ethnic diversity provides in multi-ethnic societies. The government, tourism entrepreneurs, Baluch ethnic group, religious leaders, and tourists have been identified as the stakeholders with greatest interest in ethnic tourism. A conceptual framework is presented for ethnic tourism development in the Baluchistan area of Iran. Five key stakeholder groups have been identified in order to understand their distinguishing features with a view to achieving constructive relations and to increase unity in the context of a multi-ethnic society through the development of ethnic tourism.Therefore, this research attempted to identifying the different perspective of main decision maker and stakeholders to present a sustainable plan for ethnic tourism planning in Iran’s Baluchistan and ended all the conflicts.