درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Ritual tourism, as a reflection of local identity and culture, plays a significant role in shaping and renewing the tourism experience. This study aims to explain the effect of ritual tourism (with emphasis on the Yom al-Abbas ceremony in Zanjan) on the construction of place attachment among tourists. The research is descriptive-explanatory in nature and applied in terms of purpose. Data were collected through a standard questionnaire based on four indicators of place attachment: emotional attachment, place identity, place dependence, and social bonding, using a sample of 95 tourists selected through convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.1 through descriptive statistics, stepwise regression, path analysis, and Pearson correlation test. The findings indicate that the components of place attachment are interconnected and significantly related. Tourists had relatively homogeneous attitudes toward the ritual event, and the overall effect of the indicators on place attachment construction was strong (R=0.99). Furthermore, emotional attachment had the greatest impact on place identity, and social bonding showed the highest influence on place dependence. In conclusion, ritual tourism can effectively contribute to strengthening individuals' sense of belonging to a place and provide favorable conditions for the construction of place identity and social cohesion.

Social media has become a vital communication channel in various industries, including tourism and hospitality. This study aims to investigate the impact of social media—specifically user-generated content—on the occupancy rates of 5-star hotels in Mashhad, Iran. The research follows a three-stage methodology. First, customer reviews from Instagram fan pages of selected hotels were collected using the Graph API Explorer and analyzed through sentiment analysis to classify them into positive, negative, or neutral categories. Second, hotel occupancy was estimated using the number of weekly check-ins on Instagram as a proxy due to restricted access to official occupancy data. Finally, regression analysis was applied to examine the relationship between the percentage of positive reviews and the number of check-ins. The results reveal a strong positive correlation between favorable customer comments and hotel check-ins for most of the studied hotels, suggesting that social media plays a critical role in influencing consumer decision-making and hotel occupancy. The findings emphasize the strategic importance of leveraging social media platforms for effective marketing and customer engagement in the hospitality industry.

This study explores how volunteer tourism fosters empathy and meaningful impact by examining the motivations and experiences of young participants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Drawing on data from 522 youth engaged in volunteer tourism, the research focuses on three key dimensions: support for local communities, altruistic values, and the desire for co-created, emotionally rich experiences. The findings indicate that participants are not only motivated by a commitment to address social, economic, and environmental challenges, but also by a deep sense of empathy, ethical responsibility, and a need for cultural immersion. Emotional safety, mutual understanding, and interpersonal connection emerged as critical components of a meaningful volunteer tourism experience. The results also revealed statistically significant differences across demographic groups, underscoring the need for inclusive and adaptive program designs in volunteer tourism initiatives. Theoretically, the study contributes to a more holistic understanding of youth volunteer tourism by integrating emotional, ethical, and experiential perspectives. Practically, it calls for volunteer program designs that balance service activities with opportunities for personal growth, cross-cultural learning, and sustained community engagement .

Health tourism, a rapidly expanding global sector, integrates medical services with cultural, ethical, and spiritual experiences. Women entrepreneurs play a central role in this domain; however, their engagement with emerging technologies and their entrepreneurial resilience are strongly shaped by religious beliefs and cultural values. Despite growing scholarly attention, the spiritual and cultural dimensions of women’s entrepreneurship in health tourism have not been systematically reviewed or conceptually synthesized. To address this gap, this article conducts a systematic literature review of 70 peer-reviewed studies published between 2018 and 2025, following the PRISMA protocol and using thematic synthesis. The review identifies and integrates recurring themes that link religion, culture, resilience, and technology adoption among women entrepreneurs in health tourism. Findings show that religious beliefs—particularly within Muslim-majority contexts—are conceptualized as forms of spiritual capital that strengthen women’s resilience, ethical leadership, legitimacy, and adaptive capacity. Cultural values such as collectivism, gender norms, and uncertainty avoidance emerge as both barriers and facilitators to technology adoption. Based on these synthesized insights, this review presents an integrative conceptual framework that maps how spirituality and culture interact to influence adaptive, technology-driven entrepreneurial strategies. The framework advances theoretical understanding at the intersection of tourism, culture, and spirituality, offers cross-cultural and gender-sensitive insights, and provides guidance for policymakers and practitioners to design empowerment and digital training programs aligned with religious and cultural contexts. Ultimately, this review contributes to the development of inclusive, ethics-driven, and sustainable health tourism ecosystems worldwide.