With over 200 million tourists and over 900 billion dollars, tourism industry is now among some of the richest industries of the world. It is also counted as number one when it comes to service sector industry. Tourism industry has such significant cultural, social, and economic importance that many countries of the world are now paying special attention to it through their public and private sectors. Iran, as a country with huge historical, natural and religious potentials and by having a large number of educated young people and also the determination of the officials of the country and private organizations, is planning, through scientific research and importations of its current capacities, to have its share in the bustling international market.
Tourism industry can have many benefits, such as: creating jobs, bringing in revenues, eradicating poverty, and equal distribution of national wealth, boosting the morale of society among young people, improving cultural and political relations with other countries as well as raising the standard of life and guaranteeing the security of the country. The eventual result of bringing a development in domestic tourism industry and attracting foreign tourists will encourage experienced people to feel more duty-bound in heightening its status. The idea for special interests tourism was first suggested in 2010. Considering the variety of tourism attractions across the country and the need for providing more sophisticated services, there should be a proper infrastructure for every one inside the country. This can, in the long run, lead to the attraction of international tourists.
Traditionally, tourism in many countries has focused on general tourists but about a decade ago there have also been an emergence in the kinds of activities that people in developed countries would like to do.
Nowadays, tourists have become more sophisticated and thus more difficult to please; they look for packages and products that meet their preferences in education, adventure, health, peace, sports, business, etc.
Moreover, in developed countries, such activities as gardening, watching TV, using computers and job related stresses have changed their peoples’ attitude toward travelling. It seems that nowadays they are more interested in short-duration holidays. Thirty percent of Australians, for example, never travel and prefer to stay home and spend their time in doing things like repairing, and doing household jobs; the reason being the personal investment that they see in such chores.
Therefore, it can be concluded that recreation cannot and should not be considered as the only reason for travelling to tourist destinations. Tourism can be a personal investment for:
-body and soul health and growth,
-learning and teaching,
-investing on business development and fostering relations,
-boosting individual identity and internal peace and
-raising one’s social status.
As can be seen, there is an intense competition among cities that offer travel packages in order to have more tourists. There are some cities and regions, however, that have been more successful in bringing in tourists by introducing various packages and products. In this report, some of the most outstanding examples of special interests tourism are made mention of. Tourism on health, nature, adventure, sports, business and events are the most significant forms of special interests tourism.
