Religious Perceptions and Hegemony on Tourism Development: the Case of the Islamic Republic of Iran

This paper highlights tourism development constraints with regard to religious perceptions in a religion-dominated country, Iran. The ruling class does not want to discount any of the fundamental social and cultural values in the process of preparing strategies for national tourism development plans. Countries such as Iran, concerned about potential negative influences of tourism development, de-emphasize potential positive economic impacts. In post-revolutionary Iran, tourism development and promotion follow unique, religiously-based strategies. The current five-year development plan is a first step towards a transition to the recognition of the importance of tourism for economic development and improved international relations. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.