Nasrin Kazemi

Purpose: This study aims to identify and analyze the factors influencing social entrepreneurship in emerging destinations and to examine the relationships among these factors based on Isenberg's entrepreneurial ecosystem framework. Design/methodology/approach: The research adopts a mixed-methods approach. First, factors were identified across six ecosystem dimensions through expert interviews. Then, the factors were refined using the fuzzy Delphi method. Finally, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method was applied to analyze the relationships within the ecosystem structure. Findings: The findings show that the institutional and social factors – government support, incentive policies, social capital, human capital, and communication – serve as the main drivers, while market, finance, innovation, and tourism infrastructure are primarily outcomes of ecosystem interactions. Practical implications: The results indicate that social entrepreneurship in such contexts emerges through processes of empowerment, collective learning, and institutional governance. Social implications: The role of social and institutional factors in fostering social entrepreneurship and inclusive development is highlighted. Originality/value: This study provides the first systematic examination of the factors affecting social entrepreneurship in tourism and offers new insights into their interactions.

Decision-making and planning in eco-wellness tourism can vary depending on time, resources, and the perspectives of stakeholders, as it is often challenging to generalize the results of decision-making models across different scenarios. Hence, the primary objective of this study was to propose a scenario-based framework for optimising eco-wellness tourism development. For this purpose, maps of 26 factors affecting the evaluation of nature-based eco-wellness tourism, including water, climatic, and kinetic therapies, were used in the Ardabil province of Iran. Weighted criteria maps are integrated into suitability maps for various wellness tourism products under different scenarios, ranging from very pessimistic to very optimistic, using the Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) operator. Then, to identify areas of consensus, scenario-based maps for water, climate, and kinetic therapies are combined. In the very pessimistic (optimistic) scenario, climate-only therapy accounts for 0.91% (2.23%), water-only therapy for 1.07% (8.44%), and kinetic-only therapy for 3.5% (5.81%) of the area. The most significant expansion is observed in areas integrating all three therapies—climate, water, and kinetic—which increase from 3.23% in the very pessimistic scenario to 14.5% in the very optimistic scenario. The findings have substantial insights for policymakers, tourism planners, and investors in developing and promoting unique eco-wellness experiences that benefit tourists. The methodical approach and choice of data and parameters in the study can be inspirational and adjustable for relevant studies.

Heritage sites are vital resources for the tourism industry due to treasures such as world heritage sites. Caravanserais are newly inscribed world heritage sites that, beyond their historical roles, are now capable to be developed as tourist attractions. This study aims to propose a framework based on a multi-criteria decision-making system to evaluate Persian caravanserais’ potential for development as tourist attractions. This study focuses on Isfahan Province in Iran, with a specific emphasis on eight caravanserais within the province that are listed as UNESCO world heritage Sites. A total of 39 relevant criteria related to network connectivity and access, tourist attractions, facilities and services, climatic conditions, geomorphological features, and hazards were utilized to assess the heritage tourism potential. The BMW-WLC multi-criteria decision-making model was applied to determine tourism development suitability and rank the studied caravanserais. The results revealed that a significant portion of the area (34%) is classified as having very high suitability, while only 6% is identified as having very low suitability. The analysis reveals varying tourism potential among caravanserais. Gaz and Gaba Abad rank high overall but require climate adaptation strategies. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework effectively assesses the heritage tourism potential of caravanserais, providing a data-driven, multi-criteria approach to sustainable development.

The subject of the paper is interesting as the countries such as Arab countries face the same concern. However. below are recommendations need to be considered. 1.The article’s abstract plays an important role in clearly conveying the parameters an...