Ehsan Heidarzadeh

The boom in tourism, particularly in coastal cities, plays a vital role in promoting sustainable urban development. These cities, endowed with rich natural and cultural resources, have strong potential for attracting tourists. However, population pressure, weak infrastructure, and environmental threats pose challenges to sustainable development in these areas. Examining the impact of tourism on the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of Bushehr can provide valuable guidance for policymakers and urban planners. This study applies a combination of the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and MicMac methods through a qualitative approach based on the opinions of 100 experts, professors, and informed students to analyze the effects of tourism growth on the sustainable development of Bushehr. The novelty of this research lies in integrating these methods to explore complex interactions among physical, economic, social, and environmental indicators within urban tourism and to propose systemic strategies for improving quality of life and ecological sustainability in coastal cities. The findings indicate that indicators such as “sale of local goods (C1),” “creation of employment opportunities (C3),” “improvement of living standards and services for the host community (C4),” and “preservation of traditional occupations (C5)” not only shape other components but are themselves strongly influenced by the broader systemic context, thus holding the highest importance. Overall, the analysis emphasizes adopting an integrated, systemic approach where tourism growth serves not merely as an economic goal but as a means to enhance quality of life, ecological balance, and social cohesion in coastal cities.