Journal of Iranian Social Studies

Abstract Mashhad is the most important pilgrimage hub and religious travel destination in Iran and enjoys a privileged position in Shiite world. Considering the s status of spiritual travels in the world of tourism, the destination characteristics can play a significant role in deepening pilgrimage rituals and providing an appropriate condition for pilgrims' spiritual experience. This article analyzes socio-cultural dimensions of the pilgrimage city of Mashhad with the premise that it is a requirement for the host society to provide both software and hardware prerequisites for improving pilgrims experience. In the first step 8 factors and 42 indexes were identified and modified using affirmative factor analysis technique. The indexes were ranked in the process of fuzzy hierarchical comparison and each element and its indexes weight in sustainable religious tourism in Mashhad were determined. The findings showed that security and safety in the destination and the host community training have the most important factors.

Abstract This article presents a description and sociological analysis of the Iranian pilgrims' length of stay in Mashhad utilizing action and structural theories. It shows how situational and mental factors influence the independent variable both directly and indirectly. The data in need were acquired using the questionnaire administered with a sample of 1600 pilgrims chosen via cluster sampling method. The findings indicated that pilgrims' average length of stay in Mashhad was 5.5 days in summer, autumn and winter and 6 days in spring. In order to identify the influential factors of pilgrims stay duration, regression analysis was employed. It was found that: firstly, the longer the distance between Mashhad and the pilgrims' place of residence, the more acquainted are pilgrims with Mashhad and that the more often they have visited Mashhad, the longer they will stay in Mashhad. Moreover, village dwelling pilgrims stay in Mashhad more than those who live in cities and towns. Also the pilgrims who prefer to pay little for accommodation will stay longer than the others. Finally, two variables of family monthly income and total fellow travelers affect the stay duration negatively.