identifying and explaining the effective factors developing the sustainable sports tourism in ardabil province (emphasizing the marketing approach)

Purpose: sports tourism is one of the most significant forms of tourism implemented in various countries. among the primary objectives of nations is the sustainable development of sports tourism in regions that offer this type of tourism. to achieve this goal, it is essential to effectively identify and analyze the influential factors in this area. the main objective of the present study is to identify the factors affecting the sustainable development of sports tourism in ardabil province, with an emphasis on a marketing approach. method: this research employs a mixed method with a concurrent nested approach to investigate the subject. initially, using a qualitative systematic review method, the necessary information and data were collected to extract the thematic axes for semi-structured interviews based on previous research in this field. then, in the second phase, using the thematic analysis method, the influential factors were identified. the database for resource extraction includes: sciencedirect, emerald, mdpi, taylor & francis , proquest, research gate, web of science, and google scholar. results: according to the findings of the study, out of 115 relevant studies, 16 validated studies or those meeting the criteria were examined, and 100 relevant indices were extracted. in the second phase of the research, 72 fundamental themes, 24 comprehensive organizer themes, and 6 comprehensive participant themes were identified, which are considered influential factors in the sustainable development of sports tourism in ardabil province. conclusion: the results of the current research indicate that the influential factors in the sustainable development of sports tourism lead to residents and businesses in the regions offering sports tourism services benefiting from unique economic advantages while fostering innovation and competitive advantage in sports tourism destinations.