Abstract:
The aim of the current study was to investigate the perceived psychic distance of potentialtourists in relation to Iran as a tourism destination. The concept of psychic distance refersto perceived similarities/ differences between specific destination and tourist's homecountry. The members of couch-surfing virtual community participated in this study. Thestatistical data were collected by convenience sampling method. This study contributes tothe body of knowledge by identifying the dimensions of perceived psychic distance inrelation to Iran. The results of exploratory and confirmatory analysis indicated that thesedimensions include infrastructure, culture and legal distance. Furthermore, the result ofone sample t- test revealed that international tourists perceive high psychic distance inrelation to Iran as a tourism destination. In addition, the result of one-way varianceanalysis showed that tourists from ten of the world's regions perceived different levels ofpsychic distance in relation to Iran. Tourists from the Middle East region perceived lesspsychic distance compared to other regions. These findings have several managerialimplications. First, development of Iranian tourism industry requires planning to reduceperceived psychic distance in terms of infrastructure, culture and legal aspects. Second,based on the lower psychic distance which is perceived by tourists from the Middle East,the Iranian tourism policy-makers can consider the region as a more accessible targetmarket.
Machine summary:
Furthermore, the result of one sample t- test revealed that international tourists perceive high psychic distance in relation to Iran as a tourism destination.
In addition, the result of one-way variance analysis showed that tourists from ten of the world's regions perceived different levels of psychic distance in relation to Iran.
Do potential tourists from different world regions perceive similar amount of psychic distance with regard to Iran as a tourism destination?
The results of the study are important because it shows the dimensions based on which, Iran, as a tourism destination is perceived differently from tourists' home countries.
The results of the study could be applied to identify marketing strategies in order to reduce tourists' perceived psychic distance and to induce fundamental changes for tourism development in the destination country.
The more proximity is perceived between tourism destination and the tourist's home country; he/she construes the destination psychologically at a lower level and feels a close psychic distance with the destination (Mahamed & Abooali, 2012).
In this study, psychic distance refers to the gap or difference that the tourist might perceive between his/her home country and the tourism destination.
The findings in terms of legal distance confirm the results of prior studies and reveal that international tourists perceives less legal similarities between their home country and Iran, as a tourism destination.
The results of the current study show that tourism industry development in Iran and entrance of international tourists requires planning to reduce perceived psychic distance in infrastructure, culture and legal terms.
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