The Role of Government and Local Actors in the Tourism Industry Development in Iran: An Unsuccessful Intervention Model

Abstract

This study designed to give us a better understanding of the experiences and mechanism of the Government intervention in tourism industry development in Iran. This study is mainly focused on the government relations With local community According to their acceptance or disagreement with tourism development project in their region. Having used Phenomenology Strategy in order to understand the existing experiences of the local people from ethno-development point of view, as well as the factors contributing to a successful intervention, a series of semi-structured interviews ,and focus groups discussions conducted with managers and local communities, as local actors, involved in the development plan. After that, a number of categorized themes were extracted From the data analysis. The research findings reveal that state- managed interventional development not only was not approved and supported by local community but also it was bitterly opposed and caused some tension among the dwellers as state intervention set up and its top- down manner dose not account for the local dwellers real needs and wishes. This issue provoked a conflict between the government's benefits on the one hand and local community on the other hand. Hence ideal intervention for local community asks for collaboration and responsible measures on behalf of all stakeholders including government, local community members, and tourists. This process as well realizes the local actor's key role in supervision, cooperation and management through local councils and association, as well as interface organization. As any attempt on the state side can come to a total failure and will leave counter effective results. It also can be costly for economy in case it is not Supposed by the local community.