Strategic Planning for Spatial Development in the Historical Tissue of Yazd City with a Tourism Approach

Abstract

Due to unplanned interventions to preserve, restore or renovate Yazd historical tissue and / or because of lack of sufficient attention, some adverse effects have damaged physical, social and cultural tissue of Yazd city. Therefore, it cannot attract the Iranian and foreign tourists, as well as it is appropriate to visit and use all valuable spaces in this historical tissue and as a results, it has­ greatly reduced the attractions of this city specifically tourist attractions. Strategic planning for spatial development is a kind of planning that has been used in this study to develop touristic spaces in Yazd. This planning creates the best environments for the harmonious development and decentralization of attractions specially tourist attractions by using analytical and descriptive method and by presenting the appropriate strategies. Therefore, data collection was done through using questionnaires and the statistical population was determined by application of Cochran formula and then swot analytic model as well as weighting model was used to analyze the obtained results.

This planning approach analyzed the factors influencing the spatial development of tourism in Yazd in form of internal and external factors which realize the goals such as developing touristic attractions in all valuable areas of historical tissue, distributing and using facilities and services, using external facilities of the area and improving the quantitative and qualitative levels of touristic places.

The most important result of this study is to provide four strategies including; defensive, conservative, aggressive and competitive strategies to develop tourism in Yazd as the first adobe and the second historical city in the world. It has been predicted possible to a high percentage and to create a stable unity in all places of Yazd historical tissue to attract more tourists to Yazd. Besides, by using an appropriate strategic planning and spatial development, and using all available  potentials  in historical tissue, many shortcomings can be removed to meet the tourists' needs and to optimize Yazd touristic spaces