Critical Infrastructural Drivers for Developing Winter Tourism Destinations: An Approach to Enhancing Tourism Infrastructure

In recent years, sports tourism has increasingly been recognized as a tool for sustainable economic growth. With its widespread appeal and significant economic impact, sports tourism has become a strategy for promoting local employment and enhancing economic prosperity. It is now a key component of regional development programs across various parts of the world. The present study aims to identify the infrastructural factors that influence the development of winter sports tourism destinations. This applied research adopts a qualitative approach, given the novelty of the research field and the lack of comprehensive studies on the development of winter sports tourism destinations. The study participants included experts in sports management, tourism, and economics, as well as managers from the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, Sports and Youth, provincial governance, municipal authorities, and tourism agencies in Ardabil province. Snowball sampling was used to select the research participants. Data collection was conducted through unstructured qualitative interviews. After completing ۱۰ interviews and conducting ۷ content analyses of relevant studies, theoretical saturation of the codes was reached. To identify the infrastructural components affecting the regional development of winter sports tourism destinations, thematic analysis was performed using Nvivo ۱۲ Plus software. After analyzing the data, ۴۷ codes were identified and classified into three main categories based on their significance. The research findings indicate that sports and recreational infrastructure, accommodation and hospitality infrastructure, and general infrastructure including transportation are the three key pillars for the development of these winter tourism destinations. Based on the results, it appears that the sustainable development of winter sports tourism destinations requires special attention to these three infrastructural categories. Therefore, to enhance winter sports tourism in cold regions, improving and expanding infrastructure related to winter sports, hospitality, and transportation should be prioritized in regional planning. Additionally, coordination between government agencies, the private sector, and local managers can play a crucial role in creating an attractive tourism environment.

کلیدواژه ها:

Sports Tourism ، Tourism Destinations ، winter Sport Tourism ، Sustainable Tourism ، Tourism Destination Management