EXAMINING THE SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS OF IRANIAN TOURISTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF RESIDENTS: A SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY APPROACH

This study examines residents' perceptions of the socio-cultural impact of Iranian tourists in Van.Social Exchange Theory guided the conceptual framework of this research.A questionnaire survey was conducted with 444 respondents selected via convenience sampling.Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and parametric tests were employed to analyse data.The findings revealed that residents' socio-cultural perceptions of Iranian tourists vary to some extent according to socio-demographic characteristics.Significant differences were identified across gender, age, level of education, occupation, income level, language of communication, and purpose of communication in specific socio-cultural dimensions.In contrast, the length of residence did not reveal statistically significant differences.Overall, communication-related variables and education level emerged as stronger differentiating factors shaping residents' socio-cultural perceptions.These findings lend empirical support to Social Exchange Theory, suggesting that residents evaluate tourism impacts based on perceived interaction benefits and socio-cultural exchanges.The study concludes with theoretical contributions, practical recommendations for destination stakeholders, and suggestions for future research.