A comparative survey of the condition of tourism infrastructure in Iranian provinces using VIKOR and TOPSIS

Tourism infrastructure development in different regions of the world does not follow a symmetrically equal pattern. Because of the importance of infrastructure in the tourism development, the present research is an attempt to examine the hard elements of tourism infrastructure in different provinces of Iran, using the indicators proposed by Pearce and Wu (2015) [Pearce, P. L. & Wu, M. Y. (2015). Soft infrastructure at tourism sites: identifying key issues for Asian tourism from case studies. Tourism Recreation Research, 40 (1), 120-132.]. To accomplish this, the data registered in the statistical yearbook of the Statistical Center of Iran were investigated. The method of research was analytical survey. To analyze and rank the data collected from the yearbook, VIKOR and TOPSIS methods were employed. The results of the analysis show that Tehran Province was under the best conditions of the Iranian tourism infrastructure, whereas Ilam Province was under the worst condition. The results about the condition of hard tourism infrastructure in the provinces of Iran, next to their tourism potentials, can provide necessary data for the future planning of the industry.