| Summary: | Traditional sports festivals as the most prominent symbol of cultural values have become the newest tourism opportunity in the last decade. Therefore, this study aims to design a qualitative tourism model of traditional festivals based on Grounded Theory strategy. The research structure is of the exploratory type, which has a qualitative approach. The qualitative research population consisted of 35 experts and specialists active in sports tourism organizations and informed residents of the host communities, who were selected by targeted sampling and based on judgmental sampling. To collect data, semi-structured interviews, and the formation of a focus group were used. After the initial coding of concepts and classification of categories, eight components were identified in the form of human potentials and natural-sports potentials among which, according to the frequency of the registered codes and the statements of the focus group, the most important features of the present study were the holding of traditional festivals and the opportunity to display and exchange cultural values of the host communities. Therefore, using local festivals as a tool for tourism development is a new and efficient approach. Thus, according to the current research model, by emphasizing the cultural values of traditional sports festivals, these places can be considered as the top hub of traditional sports festivals.
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