ranking the cities with potential of tourism investment in fars province using numerical taxonomy

Tourism industry is one of the most important parts of economic development. It can create job either directly or through stimulating other economic sectors. Therefore, it is important for policy makers to determine the best places with good potentials for tourism development. Fars province has been the center of civilization and the origin of the Iranian literature and mysticism celebrities and could be a potential investment of tourism. However, this province does not have the infrastructure required to accommodate tourists, especially during holiday seasons. This study ranks different cities located in the Fras province having the necessary potential for investment in the tourism sector by using the numerical taxonomy in terms of 12 indicators. The research population includes 29 cities in this province based on the devision of 2016. The necessary data are collected from Directorate General of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism in Fars province. It is found that the cities of Shiraz, Marvdasht, Firouzabad, Sepidan, and Kazerun were the best cities for tourism investment, respectively.