Investigating the role and importance of historical architecture in the tourism industry; a case study of Iran

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 25 - 41, 30.06.2025

Saeid Foroughi , Mete Sezgin

https://doi.org/10.53601/tourismandrecreation.1496393

Abstract

Architecture is an essential part of historical and cultural attractions. Iran has a special position for tourism due to its geographical, cultural, artistic, and historical location. Iran, a country with different ethnic groups and thousands of years of culture and colourful history, has a special position among the world's countries. Iran is proud of its rich history, diverse civilisations, and unique collection of historical monuments that are a testimony to its ancient past. These historical buildings not only show the brilliance of the architecture of the past but also provide a glimpse of the culture and heritage of this land. This study aims to investigate the fundamental relationship between architecture and tourism, the two main industrial and historical architectures in the geographical context of Iran. Considering the importance of architecture in the tourism industry, this article attempts to examine and introduce historical architectural works in important cities of Iran and the impact of these places on the tourism industry. Considering the necessity and importance of the research, the research method used in this qualitative study was the descriptive method. Architecture is one of those documents that bring rich resources from the past, and in this regard, paying attention to historical buildings and traditional contexts and getting to know local architecture, traditions, and Iranian culture as well as possible can bring valuable results. The results showed that architecture and tourism affect each other's development and success. Architecture is a powerful tool that can be used to develop tourism, and if it is not used, development and progress cannot be made for tourism in any region.

Keywords

Tourism Development , Tourism Industry , Tourism Architecture , Historical and Cultural Attractions , Historical Location

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval was not obtained for this study as it did not require ethics committee approval. In case of detection of a contrary situation, TO&RE Journal has no responsibility, and all responsibility belongs to the author(s) of the study.

Turizm endüstrisinde tarihi mimarinin rolü ve öneminin araştırılması; İran vaka çalışması

Abstract

Mimarlık, tarihi ve kültürel cazibe merkezlerinin vazgeçilmez bir parçasıdır. İran, coğrafi, kültürel, sanatsal ve tarihi konumu nedeniyle turizm açısından özel bir konuma sahiptir. Farklı etnik gruplara ve binlerce yıllık kültüre ve renkli tarihe sahip bir ülke olan İran, dünya ülkeleri arasında özel bir konuma sahiptir. İran, zengin tarihi, çeşitli medeniyetleri ve kadim geçmişine tanıklık eden benzersiz tarihi anıt koleksiyonuyla gurur duymaktadır. Bu tarihi yapılar yalnızca geçmişin mimarisinin parlaklığını göstermekle kalmaz, aynı zamanda bu toprakların kültürüne ve mirasına da bir bakış sağlar. Bu çalışma, İran'ın coğrafi bağlamında iki ana endüstriyel ve tarihi mimari olan mimari ve turizm arasındaki temel ilişkiyi araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Mimarinin turizm endüstrisindeki önemini göz önünde bulundurarak, bu makale İran'ın önemli şehirlerindeki tarihi mimari eserleri ve bu yerlerin turizm endüstrisi üzerindeki etkisini incelemeyi ve tanıtmayı amaçlamaktadır. Araştırmanın gerekliliği ve önemi göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, bu nitel çalışmada kullanılan araştırma yöntemi tanımlayıcı yöntemdir. Mimarlık, geçmişten zengin kaynaklar getiren belgelerden biridir ve bu bağlamda, tarihi yapılara ve geleneksel bağlamlara dikkat etmek ve yerel mimariyi, gelenekleri ve İran kültürünü mümkün olduğunca tanımak değerli sonuçlar getirebilir. Sonuçlar, mimarlık ve turizmin birbirlerinin gelişimini ve başarısını etkilediğini göstermiştir. Mimarlık, turizmi geliştirmek için kullanılabilecek güçlü bir araçtır ve kullanılmazsa, hiçbir bölgede turizm için gelişme ve ilerleme sağlanamaz.

Keywords

Turizmin Gelişimi , Turizm Endüstrisi , Turizm Mimarisi , Tarihi ve Kültürel Mekanlar , Tarihi Konum

References

• Abedifar, H. (2013). Tourism and architecture, The First National Conference on Tourism, Geography and Sustainable Environment, 21 November 2013, pp. 1-17, Hamadan, Iran.
• Abedinipour, M. (2021). The role of cultural heritage management and urban architecture is a suitable solution in the development of tourism culture, The Fifth International Conference on Tourism, Geography and Clean Environment, 8 January 2021, pp. 1-11, Hamedan, Iran.
• Afsari, R., Mehboob Pour, V., & Bakhshi, V. (2014). The role of architecture and urban planning in the development of urban tourism (a case study of Tabriz tourism), International Conference on Civil Engineering Architecture & Urban Sustainable Development, 17-18 December 2014, pp. 1-13, Tabriz, Iran.
• Cheirchanteri, G. (2021). Architecture as a product of tourism consumption/ IOP Conference Series. Materials Science and Engineering, 1203(3), 1-10. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/1203/3/032004.
• Coşkun, R., & Okuyucu, A. (2022). Kültürel mirasın korunması ve turizmle ilişkisine yönelik yerel halkın algı ve tutumları: Odunpazarı örneği. Coğrafi Bilimler Dergisi, 20(1), 246-281. Doi: https://doi.org/10.33688/aucbd.1051375.
• Deriu, D., Piccoli, E., & Özkaya, B. T. (2016). Travels in architectural history. Architectural Histories, 4(1), 1-7. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5334/ah.234.
• Eftekhari, A., Mahdavi, D., & Pourtaheri, M. (2011a). Sustainability assessment of tourism in cultural-historical villages of Iran with an emphasis on sustainable tourism development paradigm. Quarterly Journal of Tourism Studies, 5(14), 1–39.
• Eftekhari, A., Pourtaheri, M., & Mahdavi, D. (2011b). Localization process of sustainable development indicators of rural tourism in Iran. Journal of Rural Research, 1(4), 1-41.
• Ercan, F., & Doğan, D. (2023). Architectural Tourism, In, Dalgın, T. & Civelek, M. (Ed.), Change and New Search in Tourism, ss. 209-226, Özgür Publications, Gaziantep, Turkey.
• Ergün, N. (2023). Durum Çalışması, İçinde, A. Çetin (Ed), Nitel Araştırma Yöntemleri, pp.133-157, Çizgi Publishing, Konya.
• Farajirad, A., & Eftikharian, B. (2012). Investigating the role of architecture in the tourism industry (case study: Iranian architecture). Geography of Tourism Space, 1(3), 49-67. Doi: https://sid.ir/paper/214190/en.
• Ghaderi, Z., & Henderson, J. C. (2012). Sustainable rural tourism in Iran: A perspective from Hawraman village, Tourism Management Perspectives, 2(3), 47–54. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2012.03.001.
• Heshmati, SH. (2022). The interactive importance of the role and perception of architecture in the tourism industry in the context of the geography of Iran. The 6th International Conference on Research in Science and Engineering and the 3rd International Congress on Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning in Asia, 3 February 2022, ss. 1-12, Kasem Bundit University, Bangkok, Thailand.
• Kalantari, K., Shabanali Fami, H., & Asadi, A. (2008). Major challenges of Iranian rural communities for achieving sustainable development. American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 3(4), 724-728. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajabssp.2008.724.728.
• Khani, D. F. (2012). Participation of rural community and tourism development in Iran. Community Development, 43(2), 259–277. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2011.604423.
• Koçoğlu, C. M., & Sipahi, N. (2022). Destinasyon çekicilik unsuru olarak mimari yapıların incelenmesi: İzmir örneği. Journal of Humanities and Tourism Research, 12(1), 187-203. Doi: https://doi.org/10.14230/johut1096.
• Mahmoodi, S. A. S. (2011). Architectural programming, a necessity for design. Journal of Fine Arts: Architecture & Urban Planning, 2(44), 77-85.
• Milady Lari, N., & Milady Lari, S. (2014). Investigating the economic effects of tourism architecture in the tourism industry, The Third International Conference on Modern Researches in Management, Economics and Accounting, 15 March 2016, ss. 1-22, İstanbul, Turkey.
• Milyani, H., & Mofarhi, S. (2016). Unfolding architectural landmarks: what makes them so distinguished? International Journal of Architecture and Urban Studies, 1(2), 59-67.
• Mohseni, H., & Ghazanfari, A. (2011). Islamic-Iranian architecture is a symbol of sustainable development, National Conference on Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development, Estehban, 2 March 2011, ss. 1-10, Estheban, İran.
• Nadirov, A. (2021). Mimari yapıların turizm üzerine etkileri: Bakü örneği, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Karabük Üniversitesi, Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü, Turizm İşletmeciliği Anabilim Dalı, Turizm İşletmeciliği Bilim Dalı, Karabük.
• Nadirov, A., & Dönmez, Y. (2021). Mimari yapıların turizm üzerine etkileri: Bakü örneği. Uluslararası Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 14(80), 80-96. Doi: https://doi.org/10.17719/jisr.2021.39661.
• Naghavi, P., & Mazaherıan, H. (2019). Analysis of contemporary theories when encountering the context in architectural design. Bagh-E Nazar, 16(74), 69-80. Doi: https://doi.org/10.22034/bagh.2019.174193.4023.
• Nematpour, M., Khodadai, M., Rezaie, N., & Makian, S. (2021). Structural analysis of the development of the Iranian tourism market employing a MICMAC approach: a new longrange planning method to attract the ASEAN international tourist market, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 4(4), 393-417. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-04-2020-0053
• Olcar, C. (2020). Sustainable tourism community: A case study of İstanbul. Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Tourism, 5(2), 63-79. Doi: https://doi.org/10.31822/jomat.739909.
• Rostad, S. H., & Bidarigh Mehr, Z. (2019). The role of architecture in the tourism industry. The Role of Architecture in the Tourism Industry, The 6th National Conference on New Technologies in Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning, 28 November 2019, ss. 1-8, Tehran.
• Sakar, S., & Ünlü, T. (2019). Mekanın biçimlenişi ve kentsel karakterin oluşumu; Izmir (kemeraltı) örneği. Planlama, 29(2), 129 - 146. Doi: https://doi.org/10.14744/planlama.2019.91886.
• Sameh, R. (2018). A reflection on the definition of quality in architecture. Journal of Architectural Thought, 2(3), 44-64.
• Samlioglu, T., (2021). Turizm ve Mimarlik, İçinde, Karacaer, S. S., & Sert, A. N. (Ed.), Turizmde Disiplinlerarası Yaklaşımlar, ss. 187-195, Detay Yayıncılık, Ankara.
• Scerri, M., Edwards, D., & Foley, C. (2016). The value of architecture to tourism, 26th Annual CAUTHE Conference, February 2016, ss. 1-21, Sydney.
• Scerri, M., Edwards, D., & Foley, C. (2019). Design, architecture and the value to tourism. Tourism Economics, 25(5), 695–710. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816618802107.
• Tan, K. K. H., & Kusumo, C. M. L. (2022). Modern architectural tourism in Singapore. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 8(1), 30–52. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-02-2021-0032.
• Terzi, C., & Gürbüz, A. (2020). Mimari ve mühendislik eserlerin turizmdeki rolü, Sciennovation, 2(1), 39-46.
• Uğur, I., & Dönmez, Y. (2021). Somut kültürel miras alanlarının turistik çekicilik açısından değerlendirilmesi: BİRGİ örneği. Journal of Academic Tourism Studies, 2(2), 54-76. Doi: https://doi.org/10.29228/jatos.52523.
• Yanes, A., Zielinski, S., Diaz Cano, M., & Kim, S. (2019). Community-based tourism in developing countries: A framework for policy evaluation, Sustainability, 11(9), 2506. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092506.