Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor; Department of Touriam, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jsrd.2026.579296.1243
Abstract
Purpose: This study models the structural interrelationships among drivers of sustainable business creation and job generation in marginalized rural tourism destinations, using Gomishan County, Iran, as as an empirical context. The study seeks to identify root drivers, intermediary mechanisms, and outcome variables to support evidence-based strategies for transitioning from marginalization toward empowerment.
Methods: A sequential mixed-method design was used. First, 16 factors derived from literature were validated by an expert panel (n=18) via a two-round Fuzzy Delphi. Second, Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), using 12 experts, constructed a hierarchical causal model based on pairwise contextual relationships. Third, MICMAC analysis classified factors by driving power and dependence.
Results: All 16 factors exceeded the Fuzzy Delphi threshold (Sj ≥ 0.65), with weak governance and policy-making, and ecological and environmental vulnerability receiving the highest score. ISM produced a seven-level hierarchy. Weak governance and persistent institutional economic inequality emerged as the deepest root drivers (Level 7). A critical linkage cluster (Level 3)—comprising community exclusion, marginalization, social capital erosion, cultural identity erosion, sustainable tourism product development, and environmental culture protection—showed high driving power and dependence. Furthermore, Participatory governance and socioeconomic empowerment emerged as mid-level strategic levers while regional resilience and the conceptual gap in development modelling were top-level outcomes.
Conclusion: Sustainable business and job creation in marginalized rural tourism destinations require sequenced, systemic interventions. Weak governance and institutional inequality must be addressed first, followed by participatory governance and empowerment, then digitalization and product development. The linkage cluster demands bundled simultaneous actions to break vicious cycles of exclusion. For Gomishan, this implies a long-term policy roadmap prioritizing institutional reform, inclusive decision-making, and equitable benefit distribution.
Compared with evidence from sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe, the proposed model confirms the primacy of governance but reveals distinct local priorities, such as the conditional role of indigenous digitalization and the outcome nature of the conceptual development gap. The proposed framework provides a transferable model for understanding and addressing marginalization in rural tourism destinations across the Global South.
Keywords
