Challenges toward Sustainability? Experiences and Approaches to Literary Tourism from Iran

Alireza Asadi, Naser Bayat, Saeed Zanganeh Shahraki, Narges Ahmadifard, Stefano Poponi and Luca Salvati ()
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Alireza Asadi: Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ilam University, Ilam 6931851147, Iran
Naser Bayat: Geography Department, Amin Police University, Tehran 1417935840, Iran
Saeed Zanganeh Shahraki: Department of Human Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran 1417935840, Iran
Narges Ahmadifard: Department of Architecture, University of Eyvanekey, Eyvenekey 9988835918, Iran
Stefano Poponi: Department of Economics, Engineering, Society and Business, Tuscia University, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Luca Salvati: Department of Economics and Law, University of Macerata, 62100 Macerata, Italy

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-20

Abstract: Interdisciplinary narrative studies are of great importance in several disciplines, especially in the humanities and social sciences. Cultural tourism and its sub-disciplines, including the complex issue of ‘literary tourism’, is an interdisciplinary field of investigation, positioned in between geography and urban–rural studies. In Iran, this form of tourism has been neglected so far—with no distinction between urban and rural areas—despite a particularly rich literary heritage. The present study recognizes the challenge of literary tourism in Iran, delineating some possible actions to develop it as a future engine of economic growth, especially in rural districts. As a contribution to a refined comprehension of literary tourism development paths, a content analysis was run collecting views and textual data on literary tourism in Iran. The empirical results of this study indicate that the mentioned challenges can be classified into several main dimensions and a broader set of sub-themes. The possible actions responding to such challenges can be classified into more dimensions and a vast number of sub-themes. Actions reducing territorial disparities and fueling entrepreneurship in local communities are appropriate to stimulate the emergence (and, possibly, consolidation) of literary tourism districts in Iran, giving an original contribution to sustainable development especially—but not exclusively—in rural settlements.

Keywords: cultural tourism; literary heritage; human geography; content analysis; middle east (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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