Evaluation of Tourism Development Barriers Usingthe RAFSI Method (Case Study: Kish Free Zone)

Tourism industry is one of the most critical factors in the economic growth of freezones such as Kish Island, facing challenges such as security, legal, economic,political, infrastructural, and natural constraints. This research aims to identify andrank the obstacles to tourism development in Kish Free Zone, employing theRAFSI. Data was collected based on assessments by tourism experts in Kish, andcriteria were normalized within standard ranges. By applying weightings to thecriteria, a final score was calculated for each barrier. All calculations have beenperformed using Python.The findings indicated that infrastructural and economicbarriers have the most significant impact on tourism development in Kish FreeZone, while legal and natural barriers were ranked lower. This study can serve as avaluable guide for policymakers and managers of free zones in developing practicalstrategies to address tourism challenges.

کلیدواژه ها:

Tourism development barriers ، tourism policymaking ، RAFSI method (Ranking ofAlternatives through Functional Mapping of Criterion Sub-Intervals into a Single Interval) ، Kish FreeZone ، free zones of Iran