Factors affecting tourism attraction : a case study on Ardeshir and Dokhtar castles

Tourism industry is considered as the biggest and wide ranging industry in the world. In the present work, a full study is carried out to determine whether the improvement in factors which influence visitors to visit historical areas, can attract higher visitor numbers of the neglected historical area named Ardeshir and Dokhtar castles. Survey questionnaire and interviews with residents and local authority employees are performed. Data collected throughout the study on the measures that the authority might implement to improve the visitor numbers are analyzed. The results indicated that establishment of full safety and security, expanding transportation, making road marks, improvement in services, and increase in number of pedestrian passes, construction of handicap and biking access, increase in defensible spaces, law enforcement and legislation of new laws, informing and correct advertisements via mass media, and collaboration between organizations are the major features of tourism attraction development.