There are parts of the Middle East that can
be regarded as being among the least
preferred tourism destinations in the world.
Research shows that travellers’ perceptions
of the region, as a whole, have been
damaged and that, for some nations, the
situation has gone from bad to worse. The
combination of a hard-line attitude towards
religion, oil and water shortages have led to
the onset of war and confl ict, either among
countries within the region, or have resulted
in countries from within the region having
confl icts with countries located outside of
the region. This paper looks at the Middle
East in general and Iran in particular in
order to review its tourism potential and
explains how the process of its development
as a tourism destination has been hampered.
This research also attempts to discover why,
in spite of several attempts by the Iranian
government, tourism has failed to develop
to its true potential. The research is
informed by a questionnaire survey of
travellers together with a Mini-Delphi
Study of tourism academics. Copyright ©
2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.