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The geographical location of Yazd province has significant potential for religious tourism. To make the most of this opportunity, it is important to develop an interpretive structural modeling. This paper aims to outline a model for the development of religious tourism in Yazd province as a Global Religious Destination by identifying and analyzing the interaction of effective drivers in future religious tourism development.

The research methodology is based on the interpretative paradigm and is developmental in nature. It takes an exploratory-analytical approach through the adoption of an inductive method and uses mixed research (qualitative/quantitative) involving religious tourism experts and tourists. The study consists of three main steps. In the first step, effective drivers in future religious tourism development were identified through content analysis of published articles. In the second step, the identified drivers were finalized through a survey of experts. Using futures research and Micmac software, a model was designed to investigate the interaction of the future drivers of religious tourism development. In the third step of the research, 384 tourists who visited Yazd Global Religious Destination participated to check the accuracy of the presented model.

Content analysis and review of scientific documents have identified 14 effective drivers in future religious tourism development that have finalized in a layered model. The model identified factors from the most influential at level one to the least influential at level eight. the theoretical foundations of this research confirmed by 384 visitors participated.

developing religious tourism, whether in the form of a religious city, a religious value system, a religious ceremony and a religious business, requires a comprehensive view that includes tourist’s mental and visual imagery, destination brand’s ideals and visions, religious belief, governmental and formal activities and the material and spiritual capital that can offer religious life style in the world markets to audiences from all over the world in the best way and in the dynamic conditions of competition between destination brands, occupy the first rungs of the audience’s mental ladder.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the nature of emotion, self-esteem and life satisfaction tendencies amongst Iranian Muslim consumers when making impulse purchases.

Questionnaires were distributed amongst female Muslim participants at a shopping centre in Yazd, Iran – each of which were selected using cluster and random sampling methods. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling techniques, where LISREL software was used to measure the direct and indirect relationships between variables.

Within the sample, there was a direct causal relationship between impulse buying tendencies, impulse buying behaviour and purchasing. Second, there was a negative relationship between self-esteem and life-satisfaction within impulse buying tendencies. Finally, a positive relationship exists between emotion and impulse buying tendencies, which elicits impulse buying behaviour culminating in purchases. Emotion drives these consumers towards dissonance-reducing behaviour, which mediates low self-esteem and life satisfaction – through consumerism as a form of retail therapy. Some of the items purchased on impulse, that fulfilled this role, were hijabs (headscarves) and mantos (a type of tunic/shirt-dress/coat common in Iran).

The hijab is worn by Muslim females across the globe. However, the manto is an item of clothing worn almost exclusively by Iranian females. Therefore, it is likely that Muslim females in different geographies may exhibit similar behavioural traits, but their consumption patterns would substitute this item with a different one, such as an abaya or jilbab, for example.

Whilst the notion of retail therapy is widely understood, the novel contribution of this study lies in highlighting that the purchase of clothing such as hijabs and mantos by Iranian Muslim females is not just driven by rational and emotional decision-making seeking to fulfil religious obligations. There are cases where these religious artefacts are used to raise feelings of self-esteem and life satisfaction within the same individuals.