Evaluation of the Effective Components in the Spatial ability of Tourists' Wayfinding in the Surrounding Context of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza in the City of Mashhad

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph. D Student, Department of Urbanism, Ma.C., Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

2 Associated Professor, Department of Urbanism, Ma.C., Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Urbanism, Ma.C., Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Spatial ability in navigation is an approach rooted in reaching a destination within an environment, which involves cognitive and behavioral aspects. This process is specifically influenced by factors and components that play a significant role in increasing awareness and understanding of unfamiliar environments, thereby effectively enhancing the experience of route tracking. The present study aims to explain and evaluate the factors affecting tourists' spatial navigation ability in the vicinity of the holy shrine of Imam Reza in the tourist city of Mashhad. This research is descriptive-analytical and has an applied purpose. It analyzes the navigation spatial ability from three key perspectives: sense of direction, spatial memory, and spatial cognition. Data collection methods included documentary review and sources as the primary approach, followed by a survey method using questionnaires among tourists and pilgrims in the vicinity of the shrine. To analyze the collected data and assess the quality of the factors explaining spatial navigation ability among tourists, a Fuzzy TOPSIS model to an ideal option was used. The findings indicate that, from the tourists' perspective, spatial navigation ability in the area around the shrine is better in terms of meeting the criteria that explain spatial cognition compared to the other two components. Specifically, the quality of environmental information encoding, attention to mental structure of the environment, and gender differences in this process are of great importance to tourists. The results emphasize the need to enhance environmental readability and responsiveness to improve the criteria defining sense of direction and spatial memory to facilitate better navigation for tourists around the shrine. Future studies could explore the internal relationships among these components and the significance of each in a more comprehensive manner.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Geography and Development
Volume 23, Issue 81
October 2025
Pages 153-174

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History

  • Receive Date: 18 September 2023
  • Revise Date: 07 June 2025
  • Accept Date: 07 June 2025

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