به‌سوی چارچوب سیاستی برندسازی گردشگری ایران: مرور روایی ساختارمند راهبردهای برند، چالش‌های فناورانه و شاخص‌های ارزیابی عملکرد

Destination branding has emerged as one of the key components of tourism marketing in recent decades, playing a vital role in attracting both tourists and investors. Despite Iran's rich cultural, historical, and natural assets, its international image in the tourism sector faces numerous challenges, including geopolitical tensions, inefficient marketing strategies, and technological limitations. The purpose of this study is to review and synthesize the main challenges of Iran’s tourism branding system and to propose policy-oriented recommendations for enhancing the country’s international brand image. This study does not claim to empirically evaluate the actual performance of Iran’s tourism brand; rather, it proposes a conceptual policy framework and performance evaluation indicators for future assessment. This research adopts a structured narrative review methodology, synthesizing findings from 28 selected scholarly sources identified through the Web of Science database and relevant reference lists. Content analysis was employed to extract key insights related to destination branding, executive policies, and performance evaluation criteria. Additionally, supplementary information was obtained through the reference lists of the reviewed articles. Findings indicate that negative media coverage, lack of coordination between governmental and private sectors, and weak adoption of modern digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, and big data analytics, have contributed to a fragmented and ineffective image of Iran as a tourism destination. Moreover, the absence of long-term, integrated strategies has exacerbated issues such as internal incoherence and limited stakeholder collaboration. Ultimately, this study concludes that transforming Iran’s tourism branding system requires a comprehensive and evidence-based approach. This includes the formulation of long-term strategies, the enhancement of digital infrastructure, and the establishment of continuous monitoring and evaluation systems. Such efforts are essential to projecting a positive, cohesive, and competitive image of Iran in the global tourism market and positioning the country as a resilient and sustainable destination.