Document Type : Original Article from Result of Thesis
Highlights
Introduction
Some people or groups create a negative image of others to benefit from them at the right moment. Accordingly, many media outlets that depend mainly on a country or a certain group have created a negative image of Iran, thereby having adverse effects on this country, especially the part of Iran’s economy that has not been harmed by international sanctions. However, this study aimed to analyze the issue of “negative self-image”, where Iranian authorities and decision-makers either intentionally or unintentionally take actions that create a negative image of their country in the eyes of the world. This negative image affects the tourism industry more than other sectors.
In the tourism industry, health tourism is considered one of the leading industries in the world with an annual growth rate of 5.6%. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the global turnover of the industry was $2.4 trillion in 2017. The industry provides active countries with numerous employment opportunities, high foreign exchange earnings, and economic stability. However, despite its great potential, Iran has not adequately utilized the numerous opportunities offered by this profitable industry.
A positive destination image (feeling of security) is the first and most important factor affecting a health tourist’s destination choice. A negative image, on the other hand, makes it very unlikely for a tourist to choose a destination.
Research Method
This descriptive-analytical study aims to analyze how a negative global image affects the development of health tourism in Iran. For this purpose, the desk research method was employed to collect the necessary data from reputable domestic and international organizations. The main hypothesis of the study implies that a tourist will choose a destination only if he/she feels that his/her trip is safe, comfortable, and beneficial. After identifying four key factors of human rights violations, violation of international conventions on protecting diplomatic personnel and premises, violation of dual citizens’ rights, and improper management of domestic crises, the author statistically compared Iran with countries operating in health tourism and being less affected by these factors. It was concluded that these factors had significant negative effects on health tourists’ mentality towards Iran and had considerably reduced their sense of security, thereby decreasing their willingness to choose Iran as a health tourism destination.
Findings
The information that a tourist receives from the media, magazines, travelogues, and from others, especially from people who have already visited the desired destinations can lead to the formation of either a positive or a negative image in the tourist’s mind. This research addresses four facts that seriously affect Iran’s health tourism industry and are due to the incompetence of statesmen or incompatibility of national laws with international customs or the western model. The incompetence of authorities and statesmen and their unreasonable behavior have laid the ground for hostile propaganda against Iran and created a negative image of the country in the eyes of potential tourists.
Results
The four main factors analyzed in this study included human rights violations, violation of international conventions on protecting diplomatic personnel and premises, violation of dual citizens’ rights, and improper management of domestic crises.
Tourism applicants are intimidated by a large number of relatively unanimous resolutions on the violation of basic human rights in Iran, drafted by both the United Nations General Assembly and the European Parliament, and massive media propaganda. Moreover, some of the neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Oman, Azerbaijan, and post-Saddam Iraq have never voted for anti-Iranian human rights resolutions. Therefore, most of the health tourists visiting Iran come from these neighboring countries, especially from Iraq and Afghanistan. However, these tourists do not bring much to the industry due to their short stays and the use of ground transportation.
After some cases of violations of international conventions on protecting diplomatic premises in Iran (e.g., taking over foreign embassies), the foreign ministries of the destination countries advised their citizens to cancel their trips to Iran.
These unpleasant events, exacerbated by the media propaganda, create a negative image of Iran in the minds of health tourists, discouraging people to choose Iran as a travel destination.
The violation of the rights of dual citizens living abroad is another important obstacle to the development of Iran’s health tourism industry. In other countries such as Turkey, Mexico, South Korea, and England, a large proportion of health tourism applicants are the citizens who live abroad. However, although more than four million Iranians live abroad, only 5% of them return to the country for various reasons. Dual citizens offer great opportunities for countries to strengthen the tourism industries, as these people visit their homelands not only for medical and health purposes, but also to see their nations, visit their relatives and friends, and to learn more about the culture of people who speak the same language.
Crisis management necessitates identifying the source(s) of the crisis and acting to resolve the crisis. Moreover, quick recognition and action can reduce the costs and negative consequences of the crisis, and vice versa. However, in Iran, many crises are recognized and solved quite late, and sometimes unnecessary security measures are used to solve casual crises. Accordingly, turning casual crises into security crises and creating a hostile environment for peaceful protests will cost Iran dearly, form a negative image of the country in the eyes of others, and ultimately discourage people from choosing Iran as a destination for health tourism.
Subjects
