International journal of Tourism, Culture and Spirituality

Although employee citizenship behavior has significant effect on quality of service delivery and consequently on creating superior tourist experience and competitive advantage for tourism businesses and destinations, but tourist citizenship behavior can facilitate reaching these goals, specifically through value co creation. In spite of that, most studies concentrate on employees’ citizenship behavior ignoring behaviors of travelers. Therefore, present study seeks to identify dimensions of tourist citizenship behavior of cultural heritage tourists traveling through tours. The statistical population of this study encompasses all inbound tourists who have visited Iran as cultural heritage tours. 384 people yield as a sample of population, through convenient sampling. To ensure the validity, the questionnaire was examined by experts and confirmed, similarly reliability via Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient. The data analysis was conducted in SPSS software via confirmatory factor analysis. Findings revealed 11 dimensions of tourist citizenship behavior including: cooperation, establishing peace and intimacy, sacrifice, patience and sympathy, active participation, support, recommendation, aid and assistance, establishing order, compensation and interpersonal interaction. Based on findings of current research, citizenship behavior in cultural and heritage tourism can enrich their experiences since fosters co creation of value and also active participation cultural heritage tourists, moving towards creative tourism. Tourism businesses and destinations managers should pave the way for expressing these behaviors, creating excellent experience for tourists in addition to co creation of value with them.

Mystical tourism could have a significant role in the development of tourism industry. It is also possible to achieve a significant contribution by investing in the pristine sector of mystical tourism and create an authentic Iranian mystical cultural space. Considering the characteristic of a mystical tourist, which is generally spiritual and cognitive issues, gaining inner peace and the meaning of existence, it should be taken into consideration in branding a mystical destination. For this reason, this research tries to investigate The effect of visiting the mystical destination brand on love and fascination with the destination brand. In addition, the cultural destination of tourism can be created with a strong relationship between tourism and culture. Attarnishaburi tomb is one of the potential tourist areas that has the ability to attract tourists at the national and international level with unique historical, cultural, and religious features. The current research was conducted on the people who visited the tomb of Atar Neishaburi in the winter of 1400. Among the current population, 348 people were selected as a research sample based on Cochran's formula with the available sampling method. Statistical calculations were performed by SPSS and Amos software, and the structural equation modeling method was used to check the conceptual model of the research. The findings of the research indicate that brand awareness in mystical tourism according to the criteria of expectation from the brand, consumer brand allocation, secrets, sensitivity to the brand, intimacy and interest in the brand, respect for the brand, in terms of the fit of the tourist with The destination brand creates a positive and meaningful impact. The presence of an important relationship between tourists and the brand, with enjoyable experiences gained from the brand, creates more trust in the brand. The experiences created in connection with the brand can have potential positive effects on trust and satisfaction with the brand. One of the most important tasks of brand managers is to understand a set of associations around the brand because it can be valuable in the brand.

During the last decade, tourism has always had an ascending approach in appealing new audiences. One of the types of tourism, which is considered the most popular type of tourism in this century, is war tourism. In Iran, war tourism is organized in the form of war tourism camps and is based on the memories and stories of the eight years of holy defense. Preserving the memory and sacrifices of the past generation is one of Iran's cultural priorities, and war tourism camp is one of the most important related cultural events in the country, which transmits these concepts to the new generation. Students and professors are among the influential groups in the society's culture and are among the main audiences of tourism, knowing more about their attitudes and views towards the war tourism can contribute to increase the productivity of this event and the satisfaction of tourists. In this regard, the aim of this study is to identify and categorize the views of the academic community towards war tourism camps. The method was to use Q approach to survey experts and categorize their views. Then, with k-means clustering algorithms, students' opinions have been analyzed with a larger sample size. According to the findings of Q analysis, 3 categories of views have been identified, and according to the outputs of the clustering algorithm, 5 clusters of views have been identified, and the generalities of these cases are very similar.

Technological development, especially over the past few years has influenced the quality of human lives considerably. According to the World Tourism Organization, the internet plays a crucial role in tourism, since it provides an opportunity for access to tourists across the world and it has the most audience compared to conventional media. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to study the short videos created on the Instagram platform for sustainable cross-cultural communication management in the cases of Iran and Oman. Among 50 Instagram pages related to Iran and Oman, only 10 pages were selected based on defined criteria and were studied using the thematic analysis method. The main discovered themes were commercial tourism (which includes sub-themes of company registration, exports, imports, skilled workers immigration); cultural tourism (which includes sub-themes of cultural similarities, cultural differences, and diplomatic relations between two countries); medical tourism (including sub-themes of Shiraz medical centers, Tehran medical centers, Ramsar health tourism, and the unknown destinations of health tourism in Iran); recreational tourism (which includes sub-themes of cruise ships, recreational Islands, desert tours, culinary tourism and restaurants, the unknown sights of Oman, and recreational tourism in Iran) and lastly ecotourism (including sub-themes of ecotourism in Iran and Oman). In general, all the discovered themes were about the sustainable cross-cultural communication between Iran and Oman.

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the villa business in Bali was significantly affected by a decrease in tourist arrivals. Despite the post-pandemic recovery in 2022, the industry had not yet fully regained its momentum. In this challenging situation, this business encountered new challenges, including the implementation of health protocols and the incorporation of information technology. These challenges led to additional costs, further straining the already diminished income due to the decrease in inbound tourism. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the adaptation of villa business to retreat centres during the post-pandemic era and its contributions. Data were collected using literature study, observations, and interviews, then analysed descriptive and interpretative qualitatively. The results showed that villa businesses adapted to the post-pandemic challenges by transforming into retreat destinations. This adaptation was rooted in a product-orientated strategy based on market demand, income optimization, and health needs. Furthermore, the approach used necessitated collaboration with local communities and a commitment to environmental preservation, as these destinations majorly depended on local community assets and a healthy setting. Based on these findings, this adaptive approach had several contributions for sustainable tourism development in terms of empowerment local community, supporting the economy, and ensuring environmental conservation.

This study aimed to examine the effect of cultural intelligence dimensions on the consumer-based brand equity for a tourism destination and the moderating role of the type of tourist in Mashhad. An applied descriptive survey method was used in the present work. The statistical population was all Iranian tourists in Mashhad in 2021, with a sample of 367 respondents. The research tools were the standard questionnaires of Earley and Ang (2003) cultural intelligence and the brand equity of Frias-Jamilena et al. (2018). The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses and analyze the data. For this purpose, Smart PLS3 and SPSS 23 were used. According to the results, cultural intelligence significantly affects the consumer-based tourism destination brand. Also, the metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral dimensions of cultural intelligence significantly affected the consumer-based brand equity for a tourism destination brand among Mashhad tourists. Also, the results confirmed the moderating role of tourism type on the relationship between cultural intelligence and the consumer-based brand equity for a tourism destination brand among tourists. Tourism officials of Mashhad are advised to launch a comprehensive website to detail the economic, cultural, and religious components of tourists who intend to travel to Mashhad. This helps value tourist choice and increases the Mashhad brand among tourists by strengthening the cultural intelligence of tourists.

In the philosophy of science and especially in the humanities, the definition and recognition of the studied concepts and subjects can have a different or even contradictory ontological, epistemological and methodological basis. From this point of view, determining the theoretical framework of understanding is one of the most basic principles of studying concepts and topics. In tourism, one of the defining concepts and paradigms is the concept of tourism space. The current research is a part of basic research and it is done based on analytical method. Therefore, considering the fundamental nature of the subject, in this research, an attempt has been made to present a new approach in relation to understanding the concept of tourism space with a descriptive-analytical approach and by referring to valid theoretical documents, with an emphasis on Bruno Latour's actor-network theory. Applying the Actor-Network Theory in the reading of the concept of tourism space, results including the acceptance of the principle of suspension in the understanding of tourism space; Tourism space as Syntax; Collective production of tourism space; Fuzzification of the tourism space; The diversity of the tourism space; Tourism space as a network and tourism space as a black box.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of cultural advertisements on tourist attraction, focusing on their effectiveness in conveying the unique cultural aspects of a destination. A descriptive study using a structured questionnaire was conducted with a sample of tourists who have been exposed to visual media advertising of tourist destinations. Orams and Page’s (2000) Tourists Questionnaire, included questions related to the awareness, appeal, and influence of visual media advertisements on their travel decisions. The results of the study indicated that modern visual media advertising plays a significant role in attracting tourists to destinations. The majority of respondents was aware of visual media advertisements and found them appealing. Furthermore, a significant number of respondents reported that visual media advertisements influenced their travel decisions.The results showed that the advertising media with the greatest impact in terms of attracting the audience and tourists included the website, television, Instagram, location symbols, environmental graphics, Telegram, cameras, YouTube, special tourism channels and Facebook. The study revealed that the modern visual media advertising is effective tool for attracting tourists to destinations. From a sociological point of view, these media play an important role in promoting cultural development and growth. It is important for destination marketers to utilize visual media platforms effectively to reach a wider audience and promote their destinations.

The sharing business model (SBM) has introduced a new type of business model that combines collaborative technologies with idle resources to improve product and service utilization efficiency. However, in recent years, the sharing economy has had a tremendous impact on the tourism business. While some initially suggest that the sharing economy (SE) is beneficial to sustainability, we believe that extensive adoption may have unwanted consequences due to negative cultural effects in tourism. This study uses a thematic analysis to classify SBM's cultural dark side. Using a systematic literature review approach and the PRISMA protocol on 117 eligible papers, we identify ten negative cultural effects: nuisance for local residents, unethical practices, perceived risk, social inequality, customer misbehavior, safety concerns, employee rights violations, lobbying, consumerism, and overcrowding. These negative effects are impacting tourism's cultural sustainability. We also help to develop a framework for SBM's cultural sustainability in tourism. The framework suggests some cultural sustainability strategies, such as affordable and accessible products, the development of a niche market, local empowerment, simple production, and ease of use. We address the theoretical and practical implications, as well as the limitations. Finally, we discussed future research in three major directions.

The tourism industry is vulnerable to crises due to its direct interaction with people. Iran's tourism industry is always exposed to crises due to its political geography in the Middle East. In order to find an effective solution in accepting the crisis and providing practical measures, the theory of socio-cultural exchange in crisis management of Iran's tourism industry was investigated. The current study is an applied research that was conducted using content analysis approach. Data collection was done from research literature and in-depth interviews with experts. Sampling was done in a targeted way. Value creation indicators and a positive image demonstrate the effectiveness of these factors. The indicators related to the theory of socio-cultural exchange were examined as solutions suggested by experts. Society exchange theory, with value creation as the main indicator propos the sub-index of sharing of ideas, synergy, respect for the environment, adaptation to society and flexibility. Ssociety exchange theory, with positive image as the main indicator; It suggests the sub-index of commitment, the promotion of professional ethics, the development of long-term relationships, and good relations between businesses.

In recent decades, scientists and researchers have not yet paid attention to some scientific debates and studies despite the scientific development of tourism. Tourism paradigms and related socio-cultural theories are two of these areas. In this work, we aimed to explain how tourism's socio-cultural theories and debates form in cultural and historical contexts. This work presents a comprehensive image of tourism socio-cultural theories’ formation and evolution process. This study a fundamental and theoretical research. It is descriptive-explanatory in terms of purpose, longitudinal in terms of time, and historical-comparative in terms of data collection and analysis. The data used in this study is archival. The results showed that although humanism, interpretivism and structuralism paradigms have significantly impacted the formation and evolution of tourism development, the functionalism paradigm dominates all periods of development and evolution of tourism from pre-mass to post-mass. There are signs in the field of turning tourism paradigms toward subjectivism approaches, based on the findings of this research and futurology in this field. Therefore, it seems that tourism scientists and researchers’ attention to this socio-cultural change of approach and the readiness of managers to understand this "paradigmatic shift" and its application in the field of implementation is undeniable.

 Religious tourism is one of the most thriving types of tourism in the world, and social networks are considered influential tools for developing various types of tourism. The holy city of Karbala in Iraq has long been one of the most popular destinations for religious tourism, and millions of Muslim and non-Muslim tourists visit this city every year. However, no research was found that examined the impact of social media environmental factors on people's behavioral intentions to visit the city of Karbala as a religious tourism destination. This research was conducted with the aim of filling this research gap. This research was a descriptive-causal study with an applied purpose. 390 people participated in this study and answered the standard questionnaire, the validity of which was examined by content and construct validity and its reliability by Cronbach's alpha and was confirmed. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods through SPSS and SMART PLS 4 software. The findings showed that the social media environmental factors, including Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) marketing, visibility, and subjective norms, affect envy towards visitors, emotional experience, and cognitive image of the city of Karbala, and these factors also affect people's behavioral intentions. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of paying attention to social network environmental factors in increasing tourists' behavioral intentions to visit the city of Karbala and developing the religious tourism of this city.