Islamic beliefs and host-guest relationships in Iran

This study examines how Islamic beliefs affect host-guest interactions from the perspectives of local people in two Islamic heritage villages in Iran. Face-to-face interviews with 51 people across the two settings highlight the significant influence of Islamic beliefs on host-guest interactions and indicate that these beliefs can be supportive of tourism. However, religiosity also significantly influenced the nature of resident interaction with tourists. The result also showed that whether villagers were of the Sunni and Shia Islamic traditions had little difference to villagers’ perceptions of host-guest encounters. In addition to religion the host-guest interactions were influenced by traditional Iranian culture with respect to hospitality.