The Impact of Festival Nowruz Eventson Residents ’Perceptions: Evidence from Shiraz, Iran

Nowruz or the Persian New Year is one of the world's oldest cultural festivals. It has been celebrated in Iran and other parts of the Middle East, the Caucasus and central Asia for at least 5, 000 years with Iranians marking the event universal, which is reflected in economic, ecological and sociocultural effects on destinations. The objective of this study was to investigate residents’ perceptions of festival Nowruz functions at a destination; Particularly, the investigation analysed residents’ perceptions of the social, economic and the environmental effects of festival Nowruz events at the destination. Survey questionnaires were carried out as methods of obtaining data; The surveysolicited residents’ perceptions of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of special event tourism. The study was exploratory and followed a descriptive design. Each professionals and educators will advantage through the outcomes of this research as it offers perception towards a destination's residents’ ideas of social and cultural events tourism.