A Sociological Analysis of the Role of the Tourism Industry in the Economic and Social Development of Mashhad

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a sociological explanation of how the tourism industry contributes to the economic and social development of Mashhad. This applied qualitative study was conducted using grounded theory based on the systematic approach of Strauss and Corbin. The study population consisted of tourism activists, managers, experts, and specialists working in tourism, hotel management, travel services, and cultural heritage in Mashhad. Fifteen participants were selected through purposive sampling, and recruitment continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The interview data were managed and analyzed using MAXQDA software through open, axial, and selective coding. The constant comparative method was applied throughout the analysis. Trustworthiness was established based on Lincoln and Guba's criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The grounded analysis identified the role of the tourism industry in the economic and social development of Mashhad as the central phenomenon. Historical and cultural capacity, geographical and urban location, and diversity of tourism attractions emerged as causal conditions. Infrastructure, urban position, and concentration of activities constituted contextual conditions, while economic and political crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and international relations functioned as intervening conditions. The principal strategies included investment, social empowerment, tourism diversification, and place marketing. These strategies were associated with the major consequences of balanced development, employment creation, spatial justice, reduced unemployment, and economic prosperity. The findings indicated that tourism development operates through an interconnected sociological process in which cultural resources, urban structures, institutional conditions, stakeholder participation, and external pressures jointly determine developmental outcomes. Tourism can function as a major mechanism of economic and social development in Mashhad when its religious and cultural capacities are supported by adequate infrastructure, integrated governance, diversified tourism products, local participation, strategic investment, and equitable spatial planning.