Despite its diverse natural, pilgrimage and cultural attractions, Ardabil Province lacks an integrated tourism marketing strategy, and its potential has not been converted into tourist arrivals and sustainable employment. This study explains the marketing strategy of the province’s tourism industry on the basis of the SWOT approach and determines its strategic position. This applied, descriptive-analytical, mixed-methods study derived an initial list of factors from the literature and localized it through semi-structured interviews. A team of eight experts and managers from the province’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts organization (a census) assigned importance weights and ratings to the factors, and the IFE, EFE, IE and TOWS matrices were analyzed. Thirteen strengths, 21 weaknesses, 20 opportunities and 14 threats were identified. Ecosystem diversity and the existence of a tourism research institute were the most important strengths; the shortage of specialists, limited knowledge of tourists’ needs and limited information dissemination were the most important weaknesses; and sanctions and regulatory instability were the most important threats. Twenty strategies in four groups were formulated and, through a six-stage conceptual model, mapped onto six destination marketing components. Given the defensive position, priority belongs to WT strategies: building a destination image and brand, identifying target markets and promotion, establishing feedback and reservation systems, and strengthening human resources and management; WO strategies follow, and diversification and aggressive strategies come in the long term. The proposed model offers an operational tool for the organizations responsible for tourism in the province.