ISSN 2320-5407 International Journal of Advanced Research (2014), Volume 2, Issue 10, 759-766 759 Journal homepage: http://www.journalijar.com INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH RESEARCH ARTICLE Residents Attitudes Towards Effective Factors In Development And Underdevelopment Of Tourism In Ajabshir County, Eastern Azarbaijan, Iran Dr. Abolfazl Ghanbri, Bahman Shojaeivand*, Robab Rahnoor Geographical Research Department, Faculty of Geography and Planning University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Manuscript Info Abstract Manuscript History: Received: 15 August 2014 Final Accepted: 22 September 2014 Published Online: October 2014 Key words: Tourism Development, Residents Attitudes, Ajabshir, Iran. *Corresponding Author Bahman Shojaeivand This research focuses on resident’s attitudes towards effective factors in development and underdevelopment of tourism and presentation of appropriate tourist attraction strategies in Ajabshir County. For achieving the research objectives, data were collected through a questionnaire distributed among residents and an Exploratory Factor Analysis using Principal Component Analysis and Linear Regression Model was carried out. The results reveal that the lack of necessary planning in the field of tourism, destruction of tourist attractions due to lack of conservation, lack of skilled human resources and Lack of information in familiarity with tourism areas, are as the most important tourism underdevelopment factors, and pleasant weather, beautiful and marvelous nature, travel motivation from the surrounding counties, are as the most important tourism development factors and prevention from destruction of tourist attractions and providing plannings in the field of tourism are as a starting point of tourism development and tourist attraction strategies (TAS). Copy Right, IJAR, 2014,. All rights reserved 1. Introduction Tourism has long been considered an effective vehicle of development (Sharpley, 2003: 246) and it has been identified as an effective way to revitalize the economy of a destination, whether rural or urban (Chen et al. 2010). But the success of any tourism development project is threatened to the extent that the development is planned and constructed without the knowledge and support of the local residents (Yoon et al, 2001: 364). So tourism can develop and grow when local residents have a positive attitude toward it and when they see their role in the process of the tourism development (Ambroz, 2008: 64). Long term planning in tourism is associated with the reactions of local residents to it. At the point when a tourism destination is born, the quality of the life of the local residents goes through radical changes, which are not necessarily negative. It is true that there can be more people around, traffic can become difficult, crime rates can increase, and the pollution of all environment resources is possible. Additionally, tourism brings changes that affect traditional way of life, family relations, the nature of the local structures functioning and many not predictable problems ( Puczko and Ratz 2000: 458). Iran is the eighteenth largest country in the world in terms of area. It is located in Southwestern Asia and covers the land area of more than 1,648,000 km 2 . It has a population of over seventy million. Throughout history, Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia. It occupies an important position in the world economy due to its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. The country possesses one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements date back to more than 5000 BCE (Mohammadi et al, 2010). Iran is one of the most attractive countries to visit. It has been included among 10 top countries regarding historical tourism attraction, and considering the variety of geographical diversity it has been