IInvestigating the Impact of Socio-cultural Resilience Dimensions of Coastal Regions on Sustainable Tourism Development (Case Study: Coastal Regions of Bushehr)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Iraj Mohebizadeh
• Golamreza Jafarinia ^¶
• Habib Pasalarzadeh

Bushehr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran.

10.22067/jrrp.2025.90434.1112

Abstract

Purpose: Resilience as a descriptive concept gives insight into the dynamic properties of a system. Sustainability as a normative concept captures basic ideas of inter- and intragenerational justice. While urban resilience is considered valuable in global sustainable development and is gaining increasing attention, socio-cultural resilience in tourism contexts has attracted limited scholarly attention. Coastal regions are some of the most popular tourism destinations worldwide and tourism can be a promising tool for enhancing dimensions of social-cultural resilience. The more resilient a community is to sudden, unexpected, or chronic economic, political, social, and environmental (negative) events, the less vulnerable it is to these disruptions. This study aimed to investigate the impact of socio-cultural resilience dimensions of coastal regions on sustainable tourism development in coastal regions of Bushehr, Iran.
 Design/methodology/approach: This study is applied in terms of its objective and is correlational-descriptive in nature. Based on the type of data collected and analyzed, it is a quantitative study. The target population comprised 1686 socio-cultural experts involved in tourism development in Bushehr City. A sample of 313 participants was selected using random sampling, based on Cochran's formula. The study utilized two questionnaires: a Sustainable Tourism Development questionnaire and a Socio-Cultural Resilience questionnaire. Smart Plus and SPSS software version 26, and parametric, and nonparametric statistical tests were used to analyze the findings.
Findings: The results showed a significant positive relationship between socio-cultural resilience in coastal regions and the level of tourism development in Bushehr Province. The regression coefficient for the impact of sociocultural resilience on tourism development as a dependent variable was 0.767. The regression coefficients for the cultural, environmental, economic, and social dimensions were 0.713, 0.839, 0.773, and 0.611, respectively. The coefficient of determination (R²) for sustainable tourism development was 0.589, indicating that 58.9% of the variance in sustainable tourism development in coastal areas can be explained by sociocultural resilience. The R² values ​​for the cultural, environmental, economic and social dimensions were 0.508 (50.8%), 0.703 (70.3%), 0.597 (59.7%) and 0.373 (37.3%), respectively.
Practical implications: The results of this study have significant implications for the development of public policies related to sustainable tourism. In conclusion, given the diverse tourism opportunities and potentials of Bushehr Province in coastal areas, especially in the field of water and coastal sports, tourism managers and planners as well as researchers and scientists must show the necessary commitment to the formation and development of this industry through proper planning and determining appropriate strategies. It concludes by presenting some policy-making guidelines for a tourism destination manager.

Keywords

• Tourism
• Social Resilience
• Cultural Resilience
• Sustainable Development

Main Subjects

• Rural Studies

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