investigating citizen perception of covid 19 effects on the tourism sector(case study: bandar anzali)

Purpose: cities cities are often considered tourist destinations, with tourism increasingly recognized as a primary source of income. to maintain this source sustainably, cities must be prepared to face emerging challenges. the spread of coronavirus has been a significant challenge for cities in recent decades because of macro politics, especially based on traffic restrictions against this virus, which is causing serious loss of tourist destinations. the primary objective of this research is to investigate citizens’ perceptions of the effects of covid-19 on tourism, focusing on bandar anzali during the pandemic.methods: the current study is practical in goal and descriptive-quantitative in research methodology. data collection was done through surveys and documentary research using questionnaires. the questionnaires were structured around six main factors: occupation, income, tourist services, afford, welfare, and entrepreneurship. the information collected from the questionnaires was quantitatively analyzed using spss software, and software tests such as the binomial test, spearman correlation coefficient, and friedman test were also used. then, it is modelled, and its finding is analyzed with the use of smart pls3 software.results: the most effective path coefficient was for the hidden factor of welfare (0.955), indicating that welfare has a profound effect on bandar anzali’s tourism destination. the factors of tourist services and income, with the path coefficients of 0.953 and 0.954, respectively, are the most effective.conclusion: the results of this study indicate that focusing on welfare factors—such as reducing economic inequity among employees, promoting the welfare level of employees, upholding justice in earning tourism incomes, increasing the stability of occupations, and promoting the living level of employees in the anzali tourist section—can promote the tourism economy of anzali in the crisis period of the coronavirus.