1
assistant professor and academic staff member of Sociology Department, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Birjand , Birjand, Iran
2
M.A. Student in Social Research, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
Abstract
This study set out to investigate the clustering of Iranian provinces based on the hospitality index and the quality of interactions between foreign tourists and local host communities, using the data collected from the Couchsurfing social network. The primary objectives were to assess the quality of interactions between foreign tourists and local hosts in Iran and to propose a novel social hospitality index for each province. To this end, a netnographic approach was employed, leveraging web-scraping tools and Python programming to extract and analyze data from approximately 480,000 profiles of local Iranian hosts published on the Couchsurfing platform. Following data collection, tourist satisfaction of the local hosts in each province was evaluated using netnography, and a hospitality index was calculated and presented for each province. The findings of the study revealed significant variations in the interaction experiences of foreign tourists across different regions in Iran. The Iranian provinces were then classified into four distinct clusters based on the hospitality index using cluster analysis. The index proposed in this study can serve as an effective tool for planning and enhancing tourism experiences across Iranian provinces. Moreover, by introducing a new measurement criterion and utilizing social network data, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of hospitality behaviors in Iran and their influence on attracting tourists.
Masoudi,H. and Ebrahimi,A. (2026). Clustering Iranian Provinces Based on Hospitality Index: Netnography of the Couchsurfing Social Network. Social Studies in Tourism, 13(31), 32-57.
MLA
Masoudi,H. , and Ebrahimi,A. . "Clustering Iranian Provinces Based on Hospitality Index: Netnography of the Couchsurfing Social Network", Social Studies in Tourism, 13, 31, 2026, 32-57.
HARVARD
Masoudi H., Ebrahimi A. (2026). 'Clustering Iranian Provinces Based on Hospitality Index: Netnography of the Couchsurfing Social Network', Social Studies in Tourism, 13(31), pp. 32-57.
CHICAGO
H. Masoudi and A. Ebrahimi, "Clustering Iranian Provinces Based on Hospitality Index: Netnography of the Couchsurfing Social Network," Social Studies in Tourism, 13 31 (2026): 32-57,
VANCOUVER
Masoudi H., Ebrahimi A. Clustering Iranian Provinces Based on Hospitality Index: Netnography of the Couchsurfing Social Network. Social Studies in Tourism, 2026; 13(31): 32-57.