The present article aimed at identifying and prioritizing the factors influencing the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in coastal sports tourism on Kish Island. This applied research adopted a descriptive– analytical approach to data collection. The statistical population comprised fifteen experts in sports management, executive managers, and entrepreneurs active in coastal sports tourism, selected through purposive sampling. In the first phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts, and a thematic analysis approach based on Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step framework was employed to identify the key factors affecting SME development. In the second phase, the identified factors were ranked and prioritized using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Saaty’s (1980) pairwise comparison matrix. The findings revealed five main factors and seventeen subcategories. The economic and financial dimension ranked first, followed by multi-level governance and cross-sectoral synergy, marketing and value chain, risk, safety and resilience, and finally, environmental aspects. As the first specialized study focusing on the development of SMEs in coastal sports tourism, this research proposes a strategic framework for creating a dynamic environment that fosters employment generation and entrepreneurial growth. Senior managers and policymakers on Kish Island can enhance the development and sustainability of such enterprises by emphasizing foreign investment attraction, legal transparency, financial incentives, cross-sectoral collaboration, risk management, resilience, and environmental considerations.
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