Analyzing the ranking of security challenges of tourism development: A case study of Mazandaran Province, Iran

The purpose of this study is to rank the security challenges and strategies of tourism in Mazandaran, Iran using a Delphi method. Mazandaran has a lot of tourist attractions. Every year it has millions of tourists. Unfortunately, it faces some security challenges. These challenges may cause unsustainability for the tourism activities if not managed appropriately. Thus, this study is proposed to answer the following questions: What are the challenges of tourism development in terms of security in Mazandaran? What strategies that can be used to overcome these challenges? The population includes the members of the permanent center of province trip facilities and tourism experts. Twenty seven people were recruited as the sample using the Snowball sampling technique. The results indicated that the most important security challenge was the 'high costs of residence which left the tourists stranded outside and so decreased their security level'. The most efficient strategies to improve security were 'promoting cooperation between the police and the travel agencies', 'increasing the safety of the transportation system', and 'familiarizing the tour guides with security challenges'.