Identification and empowerment of capabilities and potentials in urban tourism with an approach to enhancing brand image and personality: A case study of Tabriz City

Abstract

This research focuses on identifying and enhancing the capabilities and potentials of urban tourism with the aim of improving the brand image and personality in Tabriz City. The research methodology, given its practical nature, is based on the analytical-survey method. The statistical population includes all city managers and experts in the tourism sector of Tabriz City. The data were analyzed using SPSS software, and the ANP and TOPSIS Fuzzy decision-making models were employed for prioritizing criteria. The results indicate that Tabriz City possesses exceptional tourism power, capacity, and potential. The examination of urban tourism capabilities and potentials in Tabriz demonstrates that its tourism capacity is particularly pronounced in the social, cultural, traditional, historical, and architectural domains. The social and cultural identity index of the city (celebrities, music) with a normalized weight of 0.0277, the presence of historical entities in the city with a normalized weight of 0.0274, the old context with traditional architecture (houses, mosques, etc.) with a normalized weight of 0.0272, great variety in souvenirs and food products with a normalized weight of 0.0271, creating a sense of belonging to a neighborhood among residents with a normalized weight of 0.0270, and special customs in the city (food styles, etc.) with a normalized weight of 0.0270 are among the most important indicators. Therefore, city managers and officials in the tourism sector of Tabriz should pay special attention to the social and cultural capacities and historical and architectural components to introduce Tabriz as a cultural and historical city at both the national and international levels. The tourism planning for Tabriz should be based on the city's cultural, architectural, and historical attractions.