Analyzing the impacts of tourism on sustainable regional development: a case study of the Kavirat District, Aran va Bidgol County, Iran

Khani Arani, Mostafa

doi:10.22034/uep.2026.578862.1865

Analyzing the impacts of tourism on sustainable regional development: a case study of the Kavirat District, Aran va Bidgol County, Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Mostafa Khani Arani

Master’s in Ecotourism, Department of Geography and Tourism, Faculty of Natural Resources and Earth Sciences, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

10.22034/uep.2026.578862.1865

Abstract

Tourism, as a tool for regional development, can lead to unsustainable consequences in the absence of integrated planning, particularly in desert areas. This study analyzes the impacts of tourism on sustainable regional development across economic, socio-cultural, and environmental dimensions in the Kavirat district of Aran va Bidgol county. This applied research is descriptive-analytical with a quantitative approach. The statistical population comprised 11,745 residents of the Kavirat district. Using G*Power, the sample size was estimated at 260 individuals, selected via simple random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS through T-tests, Pearson correlation, and the Friedman test. The findings showed that residents’ average perceptions of tourism impacts in the economic (3.00), socio-cultural (2.93), and environmental (3.01) dimensions were close to the moderate level, showing no significant difference from the reference value (3). Although the economic dimension had a higher relative priority, this difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, positive and significant relationships were observed among all sustainable development dimensions, while no significant differences existed between male and female perspectives. Overall, the results indicated that tourism in its current state has failed to play an effective role in achieving sustainable regional development, and its impacts remain limited from the local community’s perspective. This highlights the necessity of transitioning to planned and participatory models tailored to the specific capacities of desert regions.

Keywords

Kavirat district

Sustainable regional development

Tourism

Tourism impacts

Subjects

Regional Planning

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