Tourism as the Base of Triangle of the Security, Empathy and Development of Sistan and Baluchestan Province

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Academic Member

2 Assistant Professor in Archaeology University of Sistan and Baluchestan

Abstract

Introduction
Tourism is one of the most important issues in modern societies. In fact, with the support of tourism in the country, various sectors of the community are activated, including hotels, restaurants, transportation, crafts and much more. As a result of these activities, the employment of labor in specialized and public sectors is expanding. The attention of governments to the tourism sector in some countries has shown that the proceeds from it will directly benefit the community, while the governmental sectors will also be affected. In the studied area, Sistan and Baluchestan province, despite the vast potential of tourist attractions, tourism is almost not well known. In this paper, it will be attempted to suggest suitable solution to establish sensation of security, empathy and development based on tourism. In fact, this industry, which is new in Iran, is not only important for development of the country, but it could also cause for empathy between different ethnicities and revealed religion, and sensation of security. Unfortunately, the tourism pathology in Sistan and Baluchestan province has not been written much and is not considered as worthy of the province. Sistan and Baluchestan province, which is limited to the provinces of Kerman and Hormozgan from the west, to the province of Khorasan from the north and from the east to the countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan, to the south to the Oman Sea can have many tourist attractions from different point of view. These potentials can be found in the field of cultural heritage, social, environmental, sports, religious, industrial, and commercial tourisms.  Sistan and Baluchestan Province has two major ethnicities, including Sistani and Baluchistani, in addition to these two ethnic groups, people from other provinces of the country, such as Yazd, Kerman, Khorasan, and a number of other provinces live in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Intermediary function of the province especially its center, Zahedan, has caused for the presence of new ethic groups from other provinces. On the other hand, the existence of two religions from Islam, Shiism and Sunnis, has added to this diversity. At the same time, this diversity has been at the hands of the colonial powers that have been present in the region.
The province has economic, trade and tourism talents, but the feeling of insecurity and vulnerability of empathy are the main obstacles to achieve the above talents. With the expansion of the tourism industry, based on the support of this important and revenue-generating industry, it is believed that the necessary conditions could be established to create a sense of security, empathy and, ultimately, development. In fact, with the logical support and development of the tourism industry, relations between the various parts of the province, on the one hand, and with other provinces and abroad, on the other hand, arise, which in turn creates empathy among the people of the region. In the tourism industry, the interests of people are tied together and they try to maintain their source of income for survival and life, and in this regard they will try their best. If this is not the case today, it is important because of the weakness of planning in this industry. If people in the region are aware of the interests of the tourist, whether domestic, national or international, they will no longer go to neighboring countries to work. They will try to eliminate the feeling of insecurity and create the necessary facilities for audiences in order to keep the audience satisfied with the tourist attractions of their province. In such encounters, host communities will be affected by the tourist culture and will increase the cultural sharing and interaction between them. The existence of great civilizations in the Sistan and Baluchistan region is an obvious example of this cultural sharing. For example, people in the Sistan plain and the Bampur Valley (Baluchestan) during the third millennium BC lived well in their area and created their communal economic and cultural development as important civilizations between the two great civilizations, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. The above two regions in southeast Iran, as an intermediary region between the above two civilizations, came to such an advancement in the fields of agriculture, industry and commerce that their commercial goods, in particular semi-precious stones, including Lapis Lazuli and Soapstone in Mesopotamia and Turkmenistan had attracted a lot of customers. In fact, the intermediary function of the region during millenniums was tied to the interests of the people of the region, and they were struggling to survive and live better and this could be seen through their archaeological remains.
Each of the many attractions mentioned above has a special audience that brings with it currency and income, and here, tourism is as the important industry that has invisible exports and could be one of the main basis for the development of the province. So, if these tourism attractions are ready, what is needed is precise management and planning that the well-known researchers come to know about the sensitivities of the area. Today, along with many tourist sites such as the Pisa Tower in Italy, Eiffel in France, the Pyramids of Egypt, etc., works of art and decorations related to those works are produced and sold by artists. This function, while creating employment and income, also promotes the culture of the regions. Encouraging the producing of works of semi-precious stones along with the tourism industry will lead to the development of international trade routes. In fact, the situation of the regions will increase the importance of constructing these roads. The connection between the two regions of Sistan and Baluchestan will bring them closer to provide the needs of their audience. Therefore, these commonalities, which are now observable, will also bind the interests of the peoples of these two regions of the province, which will ultimately lead to their empathy to gain an ideal life.
At the end of this discussion, it is necessary to give a brief mention of some of the most important obstacles to tourism in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Being on the border and feeling of insecurity is perhaps one of the most important of these factors. As mentioned above, Sistan and Baluchestan provinces have long borders with both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Indeed, insecurity in the two neighboring countries has caused feeling of insecurity in Sistan and Baluchestan province. This feeling has prevented private sector investment in the tourism industry and related infrastructure. On the other hand, the audience of the province's tourism, which is the people of our country and other countries, also have little interest in traveling to this province. Regarding the security, Sistan and Baluchestan is in the list of Red Zone countries for some European Countries. But, as mentioned, empathy is the most important factor for investment stability. Perhaps this feeling of insecurity itself is not a reason to neglect tourism studies in the province. While such studies, especially in the infrastructure sector, can provide an understanding of the existing conditions and the basic needs of the tourism sector.

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