University of Mohaghegh Ardabili Research in Sport Management and Marketing 2783-2392 7 1 2026 01 01 Identifying and Explaining the Effective Factors Developing the Sustainable Sports Tourism in Ardabil Province (Emphasizing the Marketing Approach) 86 103 4211 10.22098/rsmm.2025.14612.1323 EN Rahim Zare Associate Professor of Tourism Management Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran Armaghan Rezaei Master of Entrepreneurship, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran Ahmad Mahmoudi Assistant Professor of Sport Management University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Ghasemi Ph.D. Student of Sport Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2024 02 05 Sports tourism is defined as one of the key types of tourism that has been implemented in different countries. One of the main goals of countries is the development of sustainable sports tourism in the regions providing this type of tourism. That's why it is necessary to identify and analyze the effective factors in this area. Hence, this study aims maily to identify the effective factors developing sustainable sports tourism in Ardabil province, which is done using a mixed method through the Concurrent Nested approach. In this regard, in the first step, using the qualitative method of systematic review, the required information and data were collected to extract "thematic axes" to conduct semi-structured interviews. Then, in the second phase, effective factors are identified using the thematic analysis method. According to research findings, among 115 related research, 16 qualified research were investigated and 100 related indicators were extracted. To be more detailed, in the second phase of research, 72 basic themes, 24 organizing themes, and 6 global themes were extracted, which all are considered effective factors developing sustainable sports tourism in Ardabil. According to results, it can be pointed out that the effective elements in the development of sustainable sports tourism make the residents and businesses providing sports tourism services can gain the advantages of special economic pros and create innovation and competitive advantages in sports tourism destinations. https://rsmm.uma.ac.ir/article_4211_cd4429e21d899cb7f79b096f1273539f.pdf