A B S T R A C T
Handicrafts and tourism are two interdependent sectors. According to today's developments, marketing and solving the challenges faced in this field are necessary to advance the development of the handicrafts sector. In this research, an attempt has been made to identify and explore the factors affecting the marketing of handicrafts in the direction of tourism development from the elite's point of view. The research method is descriptive-analytical and based on the collection of survey data. The data collection technique is a questionnaire. The statistical population of the research was made up of experts in the fields of handicrafts and tourism who, using the snowball method, identified a total of 85 experts and completed the questionnaire. The results showed that 22 factors affecting the marketing of handicrafts in the direction of Iran's tourism development are known and important. The result showed that the total effect value was 0.81, and in total, the examined factors can explain about 81% of the positive effects in improving the marketing of handicrafts and tourism. In this context, the handicrafts market development factor in the context of technology with an explanation of 0.987 and low-cost tourism services with an explanation of 0.901 are known as the two factors that have the most influence on the marketing of handicrafts in the direction of tourism development.In order to solve the handicraft sector and especially their marketing problems, some obstacles and effective factors must be solved in this field. These factors include economic, social, managerial, and political factors
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Tourism and handicrafts are two interdependent sectors, and the development of each can lead to the improvement of the other. In addition, each has independent social and economic effects at the local and national levels. Nevertheless, considering the connections between these two sectors, it is necessary to help develop them together with basic planning and formulating optimal solutions. One of the important sectors in which Iran's tourism and handicrafts are neglected is the marketing of handicrafts. Marketing can help the handicraft business to be successful in the competitive market and earn high income. Also, handicraft marketing can help the tourism industry. With proper advertising and marketing, handicrafts can be known as tourist attractions in different regions and attract tourists. As the number of tourists increases, the sale of handicrafts also increases, and this can help develop the industry and create job opportunities in different areas. Therefore, the principle of marketing is very important in both handicrafts and tourism. In this regard, examining the issue of handicraft marketing with an emphasis on tourism can be considered one of the important steps in the study and development of this sector because the lack of basic attention, even in the studies department, has been effective in the lack of development of handicrafts and tourism marketing. This research can be a step forward in the direction of the importance of the subject. Thus, considering the relationship between handicrafts and tourism, this research tried to emphasize the marketing issue. So, this research aims to identify and analyze the factors affecting the marketing of handicrafts in the direction of tourism development.
Methodology
The research method is descriptive-analytical and based on the applied goal. Also, in terms of time, except cross-sectional research and based on the way of data collection, it is quantitative research. The statistical population of the research is made up of experts on the subject of handicrafts and handicrafts. Accurate statistics regarding the number of expert statistical communities have not been available, and they cannot be used to determine them using different formulas. The sample size was determined to be 85 people using the snowball sampling. Another point is that this number of samples is available to the researcher, and the same number of people have shown their acceptance of completing the questionnaire. The data collection tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed through elite society, and reliability was confirmed through Cronbach's alpha with a coefficient of 0.78. SPSS software was also used for data analysis.
Results and discussion
A sample t-test was used to investigate the factors affecting marketing. The result of the test shows that 22 investigated factors were significant at a level of less than 0.05 and equal to 0.000. Examining the direction of significance using the mean shows that the direction of significance is also evaluated as positive. In this context, the highest average was related to the localization of tourism services with an emphasis on handicrafts, which had a value of 4.458. Also, two factors of investment in the handicraft sector, with an average of 4.176, and price control of handicraft products, with an average of 4.164, are known in the second and third ranks. Therefore, the three mentioned factors are known as factors that can have a significant impact on the development of handicrafts marketing. In other words, these factors are more important compared to other factors. The overall fit of the model of the effect of various factors on the marketing of handicrafts in the direction of tourism development and the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable of the research was investigated. The result showed that the role of the mentioned indicators in marketing among the respondents is significant at the 99% confidence level. The critical ratio is higher than the value of 2.58 (a critical ratio higher than 2.58 indicates the significance of the effect) and also indicates the significance of the effect of the independent variable of the research (investigated factors) on the dependent variable (handicrafts and tourism marketing). In total, it can be said that 22 investigated factors, including low-cost tourism services, investment in the handicraft sector, information related to handicrafts, localization of tourism services with an emphasis on handicrafts, development of handicrafts market in the context of Technology, advertising and attention to handicrafts and indigenous, training of human resources, etc. can be effective in the marketing status of handicrafts and tourism. Examining the role of 22 influential factors in the marketing situation shows that the total effect value is 0.81, and in total, the investigated factors can explain about 81% of the variance, role-playing, and positive effects in improving the marketing of handicrafts and tourism. According to the results of this model, the most influential factor is related to the handicraft market development factor in the technological context with an explanation of 0.987, which actually has the most significant impact among the analyzed factors in improving handicraft marketing in the direction of tourism development. Low-cost tourism services, with an explanation of 0.901, as well as information related to handicrafts, with an explanation of 0.798, are known in the second and third ranks of the factors investigated in the field of improving the marketing of handicrafts in the direction of tourism development. In addition, the two factors of using native-local festivals with an explanation of 0.789 and advertising and paying attention to local handicrafts with an explanation of 0.788 have been placed in the next important and influential ranks. Therefore, the 22 investigated factors influence the marketing of handicrafts in the direction of tourism development, and the extent of this influence is reported separately for each factor in the table below.
Conclusion
Overall, the analysis of the results confirms that marketing is influenced by various contextual, structural, and behavioral factors, and all these factors can be effective in improving the marketing of handicrafts with a tourism approach. In order for the marketing of this sector to be placed in a proper process, emphasizing these factors and turning to new methods, especially in the technology sector, is an undeniable necessity. In line with the mentioned results, two suggestions are presented:
1.It is suggested that marketing methods be strengthened in the context of technology and technology in the handicrafts sector;
2.It is suggested that advertising and information necessary for the introduction and marketing of handicrafts be emphasized.
Funding
There is no funding support.
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.
