Spatial distribution analysis of the dimensions of creative tourism operators (Case study of Golestan townships)

Introduction Today, due to the historical processes, interests, education and needs of society, the fields of tourism have also changed. The fact is that many countries in their new tourism planning, creativity has become a strategy in the construction of places, so it is important knowing the importance of the fact that development based on creativity and creative tourism, various negative factors of tourism development Reduces, as the creative living industry has received a lot of attention in these countries. In the category of creative tourism, creative tourism development strategies must be sensitive to the issue of local capacities. Because the mental image of the residents of that place is important for understanding the goals and behavioral attitudes and supporting the development of tourism. Despite the growth of tourism in the world and the slow and slow growth of tourism in Iran, tourism in Golestan province has not yet reached its true position due to the existing potential and actual capabilities. Although Golestan province is considered as the "tourist bottleneck" of the east of the country based on its geographical location and is a gateway to incoming tourists from the eastern provinces of the country, but so far has only played a "crossing" role and has not benefited from such a geographical location in the "geopolitics of domestic tourism", in this regard, the present article explains and analyzes the spatial distribution of creative tourism pragmatists in tourism areas of the townships of  Golestan province.Data and Method The aim of this study was development research in terms of descriptive-analytical nature and based on survey and field method. The method of collecting the required data was based on library, documentary and field survey methods by referring to the relevant organizations. 27 sub-indexes (in the form of 232 variables) were used to evaluate the spatial distribution of creative tourism operators and practitioners of creative tourism, which has four dimensions of creative environment, creative process, creative product and creative class. In order to compare the studied cities in terms of spatial distribution status of creative tourism operators, first the weight and importance of all dimensions and sub-indices were obtained through a critical model. Then, 14 sample townships were compared with each other and ranked using EDAS multi-criteria decision making method based on the status of creative tourism operators. Results and Discussion Despite some attention and positive results of the conceptual and operational development of creative tourism in the country, so far, due to the rich local capacities in all areas of music, food, local games, dance, singing and local rituals, there is still a great distance to the realization of creative tourism aspirations in the country,  Meanwhile Golestan province is no exception to this rule due to its abundant talents and capabilities. The objective and tangible result of these facts can be easily seen in the product of this study;The result of evaluating the four dimensions of creative environment, creative process, creative industries (product) and creative class in the spatial distribution of creative tourism creative operators in Golestan province, where there are many potential capacities for the development of creative tourism, whose analytical output shows in the townships of the province, in terms of environment, out of 14 townships in the province, 7 townships are in a completely unfavorable situation. However Maraveh Tappeh township with the highest percentage of rural population (85.8%) has been identified as a natural habitat for car trees and rare medicinal plants.It is obvious that the study and planning of the development and consolidation of this one case (medicinal plants), itself will have a dramatic effect on economic development in the first step and the development of creative tourism in the region.The results of this study show that Gomishan township with two golf courses and an international wetland as well as the only township with marine handicraft production are among these townships.Certainly, in the production of these industries, what is important is the creativity of the individual to prepare and produce the most beautiful products with these objects and her imagination.In the creative process dimension, Azadshahr, Ramyan and Aliabad have been more successful than other townships by holding workshops, art and cultural training classes, and various festivals, and have been in a completely favorable position in terms of this dimension. n the creative class dimension, the situation is far more favorable than other dimensions of creative tourism practitioners, so that Turkmen, Kordkoy, Kalaleh and Minoodasht have a better situation in terms of creative class than other dimensions of creativity. This situation is partly due to the optimal use of industries and creative products in these areas, while other cities have not been able to take full advantage of the potential in the region. As it is evident in the findings, Gorgan township is in a very favorable situation in other cases except for one case (creative process). It is obvious that such a situation is due to the concentration of attention on the first city and the center of the province so that geographical inequality in the urban and service system of the province, disproportionate distribution of population, infrastructure facilities and activities and the tendency to polarization are among the management factors involved in these regional imbalances. ConclusionIn summary, the results of this study show that creative tourism operators in the townships of Golestan province are not in a good position. In explaining this issue, according to the objective studies conducted from the results of studies, observations and interviews, the spatial distribution of the dimensions of creative tourism operators in the five townships of Maraveh Tappeh, Gomishan, Galikesh, Kordkoy and BandarGaz, has completely unfavorable conditions, while six townships of Minoodasht, Azadshahr, Aq Qala, Turkmen, Kalaleh and Ramyan have relatively unfavorable conditions in terms of having the dimensions of creative tourism operators. However, only Aliabad and Gonbad townships are in a state of moderate desirability, and ultimately Gorgan is the capital of the province, which is in a very favorable situation in terms of having the dimensions of creative tourism operators. The results of this study show that this province, despite the potential capacities for the development of creative tourism, is still far from the ideals of this important issue in line with the existing conditions of developed societies, which is the main concern of this paper, recognition, attention, recommendation, planning and development of this important issue as one of the most important channels of sustainable economy in the world.