davood jamini

In order to optimally utilize the potential of geotourism in order to achieve sustainable rural development, providing a cognitive and scientific basis is a fundamental requirement. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to identify the challenges and solutions for developing geotourism in rural settlements, which has been conducted as a case study in three villages of Yozbashi Kandi, Quri Qaleh, and Alisadr.

Design/methodology/approach: 

In terms of methodology, this quantitative and applied study was conducted with a combination of descriptive-analytical and correlational-exploratory methods. The statistical population includes all residents of the selected villages, of which 314 people were ultimately considered as a statistical sample.

The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that the most important challenges to geotourism development, in order of importance, are: weak advertising and limited tourist accommodations (15.352%), weak local management and transportation infrastructure (11.576%), administrative limitations and weak knowledge and financial strength (11.37%), weak marketing and destination diversity (10.429%), cultural-security challenges (8.294%), and weak health infrastructure (7.507%).

The solutions presented by the local community for the development of geotourism are largely consistent with the identified challenges, and the local community has a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and solutions for the development of geotourism.

Originality/value:

 In our country, no study has been conducted on the challenges and solutions for developing geotourism from the perspective of the local community, and the present study can be a basis for other studies in the future.

Considering that several factors can be effective in the development of rural tourism and its marketing process, it is important and necessary to identify the drivers and drivers of rural tourism marketing and scenario planning regarding rural tourism marketing. By relying on scenario planning in rural tourism marketing, it is possible to provide the necessary cognitive background for the sustainable development of tourism in rural areas in the future. Around the city of Sanandaj as the capital of Kurdistan province, there are many villages that have many natural and human attractions in terms of tourism. Among the villages located around the city of Sanandaj, the villages of Noura, Qar, Brazan, Salavat Abad, Babariz, Sarab Qamish and Arendan receive a significant number of tourists. The reason is the existence of ecotourism residences, a beautiful landscape, the availability of services and amenities, accommodation and health, and a short distance from Sanandaj city. In line with the sustainable benefit of the local community from the benefits of rural tourism, paying attention to the marketing category with a scenario-based approach in these tourist destinations can guarantee the sustainable development of tourism in these peri-urban spaces. Therefore, according to the mentioned materials, the main questions of the present research are: What are the key drivers affecting the development of tourism marketing in the peri-urban villages of Sanandaj city? And what scenarios can be presented for the development of tourism marketing in the peri-urban villages of Sanandaj?

In order to identify the key drivers effective on tourism marketing in the villages around Sanandaj city, the process was as follows: First, through the Delphi method and using the opinions of 50 experts and specialists in rural planning and tourism, among all the primary factors affecting rural tourism marketing, 25 main variables have been identified and extracted. In the following, by distributing a questionnaire and surveying 30 experts and experts, through cross-effects analysis, the key drivers affecting tourism marketing in the villages around Sanandaj city have been identified using Micmac software. After identifying the key drivers, by distributing the third-stage questionnaire among 20 experts and experts, using the Scenario Wizard software, the possible and desirable future scenarios of tourism marketing in the villages around Sanandaj city have been presented.

The results of the research showed that among the 25 main factors affecting tourism marketing in the villages around Sanandaj city, 5 key variables have been identified as key drivers. These variables are: advertising (spreading leaflets, word of mouth, social media) (A1); investment (A11); attractiveness and integrated management of tourist destinations (A14); Awareness of the local community regarding tourism (A16) and the participation of local communities in the tourism development process (A18). Also, the results showed that 19 scenarios regarding tourism marketing have been achieved in the suburban villages of Sanandaj, which are divided into four groups: scenarios with very favorable conditions, scenarios with a static trend and relative improvement in some factors, scenarios on the brink of crisis, and critical scenarios.

Advertising in rural tourism marketing in peri-urban spaces, including advertising through leaflets, word of mouth and using social media, is very important. These marketing tools as basic solutions can help to develop and attract tourists to rural settlements around cities. Distributing tracts in peri-urban areas, especially near urban centers, can be an efficient method to attract the attention of tourists. These tracts can include information about rural tourism attractions, local activities, accommodation services, and tourist tours that attract and encourage the audience to visit villages and natural areas. Investment can also significantly help to develop tourism in rural settlements and improve the economic and social status of these areas. Some of the importance of investment in this field are: development of infrastructure and services, development of tourism culture, promotion and marketing, improvement of employment level and environmental protection. The results showed that management in tourism marketing in peri-urban villages is very important in different aspects such as planning and strategizing, human resources management, financial management, communication and marketing management, and service and facility management. The level of awareness of the local community is also considered as one of the main success factors in the development of rural tourism. Some of the effects of this awareness in tourism marketing in peri-urban villages are: participation of the local community, introduction of local resources and attractions, preservation and development of local culture and acceptance and welcoming of tourists. The participation of local communities in the process of tourism development in peri-urban spaces has a significant effect on rural tourism marketing. This partnership can help the sustainable and successful development of the tourism industry in rural settlements and is very important in rural tourism marketing. Some of the effects of the participation of local communities in the marketing of rural tourism in peri-urban spaces are: ensuring the provision of local experience, developing regional products and services, and enhancing the experience of tourists.Also, the results indicate the future offending scenarios of tourism marketing in Sanandaj peri-urban villages. The results of this section indicate that a total of 19 scenarios have been identified for the future of tourism marketing in the peri-urban villages ofSanandaj, among which one scenario is in a favorable situation and one scenario is in an unfavorable situation, and the other scenarios are between the favorable scenario and the unfavorable scenario. . In order to achieve the desired scenario, special attention should be paid to all the factors influencing tourism marketing in the peri-urban villages of Sanandaj, especially the key drivers.

Due to the changes and developments of recent years, the nomadic society of Iran has faced relatively serious challenges in various fields, so that in some regions of the country, the nomadic population is drastically decreasing. In order to reduce the increasing problems of nomadic society, tourism is mentioned as a new strategy in order to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, the main goal of the current research is to identify the optimal strategy for the development of nomadic tourism, which was conducted as a case study in Fars province (which has the largest nomadic population in Iran). The method governing this study is the descriptive-analytical approach, and the main tool for data collection is a researcher-made questionnaire that was completed by 15 experts. SWOT model has been used to analyze the data. The results of the research showed that the final weight of identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats was 3.052, 3.049, 3.252 and 0.344, respectively and in total, the external factors affecting the development of nomadic tourism prevail over the internal factors. The results of the identification of the optimal strategy for the development of nomadic tourism in Fars province showed that the offensive strategy (SO) has been identified as the most appropriate strategy and for the development of nomadic tourism, the main emphasis should be focused on internal strengths and external opportunities.

Although there are many expectations of the role of tourism in the development process of the local and rural economy, tourism in rural settlements has not played its main and key role as a tool to achieve sustainable rural development. Weak attention to the appropriate approaches of rural tourism marketing is one of the most important factors of little success and sometimes the lack of success of tourism in the process of sustainable rural development. Meanwhile, marketing is one of the important elements in the sustainable development of rural tourism. By applying tourism marketing methods, while identifying and selecting target markets, it is possible to introduce the village and its unique features, along with creating competition for the sale of local, cultural products and other services. Also, with the increase in the number of tourists in tourist destinations, he used the many economic and social benefits of tourism in a favorable way.Palangan village, as the center of one of the exemplary tourism areas of Kurdistan province and also one of the target villages of Kurdistan province, is one of the most spectacular villages of Kurdistan province. This village, with its amazing and unique staircase architecture and beautiful and pristine natural landscape, has been registered in the country's national heritage list and has been given the titles of "Lost Paradise" and "Kurdistan Masuleh". According to the results of the last population and housing census of Kurdistan province, this village has 809 people (405 men and 404 women) in the form of 215 households. Because of the natural and human attractions of this village, thousands of domestic and foreign tourists visit this village every year. Considering the important role of marketing in the development of tourism as well as rural development, studies in this field can provide the basis for the prosperity and prosperity of tourism in the studied area. Surveys show that so far, few studies have been conducted regarding the state of rural tourism marketing and the factors affecting it, and this has received less attention from researchers. Meanwhile, rural tourism marketing is one of the essentials of sustainable tourism development. Therefore, the main questions of the current research are: What is the state of rural tourism marketing indicators separately and also the general state of tourism marketing in rural Palgangan? And what are the most important factors affecting the development of tourism marketing in Palangan village?

The main purpose of the present quantitative and applied research, which was carried out with a combination of descriptive-analytical and exploratory methods, is to evaluate and measure the state of rural tourism marketing and identify the factors affecting it from the point of view of tourists. This research has been conducted as a case study in Palangan village (located in Kamyaran county). Considering the time constraints and high costs of questionnaire distribution, as well as tourists' unwillingness to cooperate with researchers, 165 questionnaires were distributed among tourists in the study area. Due to the distortion of 15 of them, the data collected from 150 tourists have been analyzed. The main research tool for data collection is a researcher-made questionnaire, which is designed in three main parts. To check the validity of the mentioned questionnaire, the opinions of tourism researchers and experts were used, and to check its reliability, a pre-test with 30 questionnaires was used. To analyze the collected data according to the main purpose of the research, one-sample t-test, frequency distribution table and exploratory factor analysis have been used.

The results showed that among the 11 key indicators of rural tourism marketing, the average indicators of attractions, infrastructure, environmental situation, culture, travel cost and skilled manpower are respectively with the values of 3.54, 3.35, 3.8, 3.588, 3.381 and 3.981, more than average and The average indices of accessibility to facilities, rules and regulations and investment are at the average level respectively with values of 2.938, 2.945 and 2.937 and The average of the two indicators of promotion and training with the values of 2.491 and 2.304, respectively, has been lower than the average. The results of factor analysis showed that the most important factors affecting rural tourism marketing are: Efficient advertising and marketing (20.677 percent), attractiveness of the destination and improvement of infrastructure quality (16.807 percent), Financial support and incentives (10.33 percent), Active participation of the local community (9.014 percent) and entrepreneurship development in tourism (8.859 percent).

Despite the large number of domestic and foreign tourists from Palangan village, which is one of the most important tourist target villages in Kurdistan province, no study has been conducted on tourism marketing and its influencing factors in this geographical area. Dealing with this category can provide the background and platform for the development of rural tourism and through that the local community can benefit from the benefits of rural tourism. According to the results obtained in order to strengthen and develop the marketing of rural tourism in the studied area, the implementation of strategies such as Effective and efficient advertising in local media (Kamiaran city) and Kurdistan province regarding the attractions and tourism capacities of Palangan village, Formation of groups/channels specific to the development of rural tourism in various internal and external virtual networks, Holding specialized workshops to familiarize the local community with rural tourism marketing, Respecting tourists as capitals for the sustainable development of the village, Forming a staff to welcome tourists at the entrance of the village, Holding various local festivals such as fish kebab festival, Nowruz Eid, taking into account effective information about them, Launching as many tourist tours as possible and welcoming and serving them properly, providing a platform for tourists to use free internet, Construction of ecotourism residences, Considering the opinions and tastes of tourists in the design of accommodation spaces and their decoration, Improving the quality and variety of welfare and health services in accommodation places, Repair and widening of communication roads to Palangan village, Variety in the price of services and products offered to tourists, Providing discounts to tourists in various fields, All-round support of the government sector for the development of rural tourism, especially in the field of allocating loans and credits and physical infrastructure, Holding local competitions among tourists and allocating cash and non-cash prizes to the winners of the competitions, etc., Along with the development of rural tourism marketing, they can provide the basis for the sustainable development of tourism and rural development.

Having an acceptable level of participation of citizens in various urban affairs, especially urban management, is one of the main pillars of respecting citizenship rights and achieving sustainable development. One of the most important aspects of citizens' participation in various city affairs is their participation in the decision-making process of the city's Islamic councils, which are directly elected by citizens' votes. The aim of the present applied research is to predict the level of citizens' participation in the decision-making process of the city's Islamic councils and to identify the most important obstacles to attracting citizens' participation in the said process, which has been conducted as a case study in the city of Ilam. The statistical population of the current research is 194030 citizens of Ilam city, of which 384 people were selected for the study through Cochran's formula, then using a researcher's questionnaire, the necessary information was obtained from the neighborhoods of Rozmendagh, Shadabad, Zamin Shahri, Ban Bor, Rislat in a simple random manner. , agricultural settlement was collected in Ilam city. It is necessary to explain that the face validity and reliability of the research tool was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha test (α = 0.758). Also, the statistical methods used for data analysis were one-sample t-test and exploratory factor analysis. The results of the research showed that despite the fact that the level of citizens' participation in the decision-making process of the councils is in an unfavorable situation with an average of 2.2, the willingness of citizens to participate in the decision-making process of the councils is at a high level with an average of 3.17. The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that the five main obstacles to the participation of citizens in the decision-making process of the Islamic councils of Ilam city, which were able to explain 79.662% of the variance of the dependent variable, are, in order of importance, the lack of citizen-oriented councils, the weakness of the scientific foundation. The specialization of councils, the limitations of laws and regulations and supervision, the weakness of social capital and the lack of attention of citizens.

In spite of many restrictions and deprivations, the nomadic community plays a key role in providing the raw materials needed by urban and rural communities. Animal breeding, production of handicrafts, protection and protection of borders are part of the capabilities of this industrious class. According to the geographical foundations governing the country, there are many differences between different regions in terms of the capacities of the nomadic community. Benefiting from the abilities of the nomadic community depends on identifying their capacities in different areas. Therefore, the main goal of the present quantitative and applied research, which was carried out with a combination of descriptive-analytical methods, is to identify the economic and social capacities of the nomadic community of Ravansar county. The statistical population of the research includes all the nomads of Ravansar county, among them 150 people have been considered as a statistical sample. Field data was collected through a questionnaire whose validity and reliability have been confirmed. To analyze the data, frequency distribution table, exploratory factor analysis technique, variance analysis test and Duncan test were used in SPSS software. The results of the research showed that six key factors have been identified as the most important economic and social capacities of the nomadic society and in total they were able to explain about 64% of the variance of the dependent variable. Among these, the three most important factors are: income generation and business boom (12.289 percent), diversification of economic activity (10.765 percent) and strengthening of social capital (10.667 percent). The results of the analysis of variance test showed that the F statistic with a value of 82.598 was significant at the 0.95 percent confidence level and there is a significant difference between nomadic communities in terms of economic and social capacities. The results of Duncan's test showed that the nomadic community belonging to the two villages of Badrabad and Gorgidar have the highest and lowest economic and social capacity with an average rank of 4.657 and 3.55, respectively.

Despite the paramount importance of tourism in achieving sustainable rural development, rural tourism has largely failed to achieve its goals. One of the most significant challenges of rural tourism is considering the marketing concept by policymakers and planners. Hence, the main goal of the current research is to investigate the status of rural tourism marketing components, conducted among tourists in Quri Qaleh village (Located in Ravansar County; Kermanshah Province).

This study is applied research in terms of methodology carried out by descriptive-analytical method. The statistical population consists of all the tourists of Quri Qaleh village, out of whom 150 are selected as a statistical sample. The main instrument for data collection is a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability have been confirmed. SPSS software is employed for data analysis.

The results showed that among the indicators of rural tourism marketing, the calculated mean score for two indicators namely planning and management as well as promotion is significantly lower than the average with values of 1.618 and 2.39, respectively. On the contrary, the mean score of five indicators including people, place, physical evidence and facilities, price, and product is significantly higher than the average with values of 3.936, 3.784, 3.712, 3.68, and 3.55, respectively. The findings of comparing the status of rural tourism marketing indicators indicated that the three indicators of people, product, and place have the best status with the coefficient of variation of 0.065, 0.092, and 0.094, respectively. The results of the overall status of rural tourism marketing revealed that the calculated mean score, with a value of 3.175, is significantly higher than the base average.

The weakness of the two indicators including promotion as well as planning and management are the main obstacles to the development of rural tourism marketing, and implementation solutions have been presented to strengthen them.

Establishing tourism eco-camps is a key strategy for sustainable tourism development, particularly in religious tourism destinations, as it enhances their appeal and economic value while preserving spiritual and historical sites. Weis Al-Qarn, a popular tourist destination in Kermanshah Province, attracts a significant number of visitors annually. Introducing a tourism eco-camp in this area can be a crucial step towards achieving sustainable religious tourism objectives. Hence, this quantitative and applied research aimed to identify an appropriate location for a tourism eco-camp in the tourist area of Weis Al-Qarn in Kermanshah Province. To accomplish this objective, 12 criteria, including elevation, slope, annual solar radiation angle, geology, proximity to landslide areas, distance from the river, distance from roads, land use, vegetation differentiation index, distance from cemeteries, distance from the court of Weis Al-Qarn, and proximity to paragliding sites, were employed. The data analysis involved using the overlay method and the Weighted Sum tool in ArcGIS software. The research findings revealed that out of the total investigated area of 219.39 ha for the tourism eco-camp construction, approximately 32.2 ha were classified as highly suitable, 55.03 ha as suitable, 60.76 ha as moderately suitable, 45.73 ha as unsuitable, and 25.66 ha as highly unsuitable. The highly suitable area was predominantly located in the southern and southeastern parts of the study area with a limited portion in the western section.

The Covid-19 pandemic, the outbreak of which is attributed to Wuhan, China, has had severe effects worldwide on all industries, including the tourism industry. Sample tourism areas are one of the most important spaces that attract tourists and travelers in our country, which are established and managed by the non-governmental sector in order to provide services to tourists. The administrations of 50 exemplary tourism regions, Kermanshah province, as one of the potential provinces, are active in attracting tourists and providing services to them. It is one of the typical tourist areas of Kermanshah province, Sarab Ravansar, which is situated on Mount Shaho due to its beautiful landscape. Also, being in the vicinity of the central communication axis between cities, and a short distance from the border bazaar, this city, welcomes many tourists and travelers throughout the year. During the pandemic, the significant effects of Covid-19 have been accepted by the activists located in the area of this tourist attraction, like other tourist spots. Examining it can, while clarifying the dimensions of the impact of the pandemic on tourism activists, provide the necessary background and platform for future planning in the face of similar crises. Therefore, the central question of the current research is:-What are the most important socio-economic effects of Covid-19 on the active beneficiaries in the sample tourism area of Sarab Ravansar?

In terms of approach, the current research is a quantitative study based on the objective of applied type, and in terms of nature, it is a part of descriptive-analytical studies. In this research, a library method has been exerted in theoretical foundations, and a survey method to collect information related to the studied society. The statistical population of this research includes all households in Ravansar city that engage in service-economic activities in Sarab Ravansar. In this study, to obtain a suitable sample and fit the study's objectives, the available simple random sampling method was used to determine the number of samples of the Cochrane relationship.The tool for collecting information in this research is a questionnaire that is taken from the studies of Rabiei and Tak Roostai (2020), Afzali and Zare Mehrjardi (2020), Askari Sawadjani et al. 2021, Pazukinejad et al. (2021) and in three parts, it includes questions about the personal and social characteristics of the respondents, including age, gender, education, occupation, etc. The second part includes items in the field of anxiety caused by Covid-19. The third part included items on economic effects, and the fourth part was also on the social effects of Covid-19 on tourism in the studied area. Related software such as SPSS and Smart PLS have been used in this study for data analysis.

Based on the results of the t statistic related to the studied indicators, it was observed that the extracted t coefficient was positive and significant for the indicators of concern about financial issues (t = 5.83), concern about closure, or disruption of activity. related things (t = 5.35), stress caused by thinking about Covid-19 (t = 7.9) and fear of being infected with Covid-19 (t = 3.48). This situation shows that the average of the mentioned indicators among the studied people is greater than the theoretical average (3). Also, the positivity of the two upper and lower limits related to the total index indicates the significance of the difference between the mean of the variable in question and the theoretical mean. On the other hand, based on the obtained results, considering the index of concern about the transmission of the virus to others (t = -3.32), the t coefficient was negative and significant. Therefore, it can be said that the theoretical mean (3) of the mean This index has been larger. In other words, as it was said in the first part, the studied people were not worried about the transmission of the virus by themselves to others.Based on the results obtained from the structural equation model, the variable of anxiety caused by Covid-19 has a significant effect on the variables in question, so that it has a significant effect on the economic (with an influence coefficient of 0.383) and social factors (with an influence coefficient of 0.509). have been. Also, the variable of economic factors affected by the Covid-19 has also had a significant effect on social factors with a coefficient of 0.137.

The social factors examined in this study include the three indicators of business, education and family domains. It showed that the initial results of the investigation of indicators related to social factors affected by Covid-19 were positive and significant, the t coefficient extracted for the indicators of the family domain (t = 4.96), the education domain (t = 3.06) and the business domain and work (t = 4.01). Based on this, it can be said that from the point of view of the studied people, Covid-19 had an effect on social indicators, and this was confirmed based on the structural model. So that the results of the model showed that the anxiety of Covid-19 (the effect of Covid-19) had a significant effect on social factors (with an influence coefficient of 0.509). Although the effect of Covid-19 on social spheres such as economic issues is not clear and direct, and even in some studies it is mentioned that these effects are not well known, but the effects of Covid-19, which include the implementation of quarantine, distancing social issues and even anxiety from Covid-19 have caused the closure or partial closure of many jobs and businesses in the studied area, which has affected family and educational relationships and even social interactions due to their jobs. The result obtained in the field of social effects caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is consistent with the results of Imani Jajermi's study (2019), Abbas et al. (2021), Suliko et al. (2021), Sah et al. (2020).

Despite the importance of rural tourism in accelerating the process of rural development and the role of marketing in its development, studies show that there is a gap in studies in this field and researchers have largely neglected to address it. Kurdistan province, as one of the richest provinces of Iran in terms of rural tourism, is not exempt from the mentioned rule and faces many challenges in the field of rural tourism marketing. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to identify the most important rural tourism marketing strategy in Kurdistan province.

Design/methodology/approach:

 The main tool for collecting field data is a researcher-made questionnaire, and the SWOT model is used to analyze the collected data.

The research findings showed that rural tourism in Kurdistan province has complex conditions in terms of internal and external factors related to rural tourism marketing. In this way, along with the many strengths and opportunities of rural tourism marketing, there are also many weaknesses and threats. Also, the findings showed that the offensive strategy (SO) is the most suitable strategy for the development of rural tourism marketing.

in accordance with the nature of the aggressive strategy, they should emphasize on the identified strengths and opportunities in order to formulate and present all plans and strategies for the development of rural tourism marketing. Therefore, in line with the development of rural tourism marketing, suggestions such as advertising to introduce the natural and human attractions of rural tourism through virtual space and mass media were presented.

Originality/value:

 Considering that no study has been done regarding the identification of rural tourism marketing strategy in our country, this research is innovative.

, the main goal of the current research is to investigate the causes and factors influencing the migration of rural elites in Cherdavel City located in Ilam province. The statistical population of the present study includes all the elites living in rural areas in the central part of Cherdavel City, and 30 people have been selected and studied as a statistical sample. The tool used in this research includes a researcher-made questionnaire whose content (form) and structural validity and reliability were verified using composite reliability. Data analysis was done through correlation analysis and pattern finding of structural equations using SPSS and Smart PLS software. The preliminary results of the evaluation of the model studied in this research showed that the model has acceptable fit indices. The results of the correlation test showed a significant and negative relationship between the independent variables (natural factors, cultural-social factors, economic factors, service-welfare factors, scientific-educational factors, and psychological factors) with the desire to migrate among the rural elites studied in Cherdavel City of There is the province of Ilam. Also, the modeling of structural equations showed that they had the most influence on the dependent variable, respectively, economic factors (γ = -0.727, t = 42.75), scientific-educational factors (γ = -0.35, 06 t = 9.), natural factors (γ = 0.169, t = 5.6). In general, the independent variables studied have explained 75.6% of the changes in the variance of the migration tendency of the rural elite.

The development of rural entrepreneurship is the key to solving various problems in the country's rural communities, including unemployment, poverty, food insecurity, migration, social anomalies, etc. The study aimed at investigating the focal correlation between entrepreneurship indicators (X variables including success, …) on sustainable rural development (Y variables including social sustainability, economic sustainability…) in rural areas west of Urmia Lake (in 2020-2021) to determine the variability between the two sets of variables. The statistical population of the study includes all households living on the western shore of Urmia Lake (N = 17738), of which 374 sample (households) were selected using Cochran's formula and multi-stage stratified sampling with proportional assignment. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed using face validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (Between 0.703 and 0.836). In this research, in order to investigate the objectives of the study, Canonical Correlation Analysisand Spearman's correlation coefficient were performed using SPSS software. The results of Canonical Correlation Analysis showed that there is a good linear combination between the set of focal variables of rural entrepreneurship indicators and the components of sustainable rural development in the studied areas. Also, the canonical correlation analysis of two significant sets showed that creativity (0.833) and self-confidence (0.898) have a significant relationship with economic stability (0.835) and physical stability (0.982). In other words, it can be concluded that by improving the situation of factors affecting the development of entrepreneurship in rural areas, we can see sustainable rural development. Therefore, it can be suggested to increase skills such as self-reliance, self-confidence, creativity, responsibility, etc. among the villagers through holding various training classes.

Introduction :

Due to the vastness of the geographical territory of Iran's nomadic society, there are many rural settlements in this biological space. Despite their many capacities, they face challenges such as poverty, unemployment, immigration, etc. Meanwhile, the development of tourism entrepreneurship can be an important capacity in order to solve the challenges of development in these villages.Purpose of the research: Investigating the impact of tourism entrepreneurship indicators on sustainable rural development in Ardel county is the main goal of this research.

This research was done with a combination of survey and descriptive-analytical methods. The statistical population includes 7574 heads of households and Using Sample Power software, 220 people were considered as a statistical sample. The main tool for collecting field data is a questionnaire whose validity and reliability have been confirmed. A stratified sampling method was used to distribute the questionnaires. Questionnaires were distributed among 18 villages of Ardal county, which were selected purposefully and the final sampling was done by simple random method. SPSS software was used for experiment and data analysis.Geographical area of research: The geographical territory of this study is Ardel county located in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province.

The findings showed that in the fitted regression model, the independent variables of the research explain 36% of the variable of sustainable rural development. Among the indicators of tourism entrepreneurship, the social-cultural compatibility index with a beta coefficient of 0.556 has had the greatest effect on sustainable rural development.

Considering that tourism entrepreneurship has an effect on sustainable rural development, it seems necessary and logical to develop and promote tourism entrepreneurship through the support of the public and private sectors, taking into account the active participation of villagers in this process. Because by following this process, sustainable rural development can be strengthened.

Rural elites, as the most important human capitals of rural communities, are a distinct and progressive stratum in various dimensions of development, and their persistence in villages can be effective in accelerating the process of rural development. Nonetheless, studies show that due to various reasons, elites are less persistent in villages and often migrate to cities. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyze the causes of elites' migration and how to attract the elites’ participation in the process of rural development in Kurdistan province.

This study was conducted in the framework of interpretative-constructive paradigm and the research method is thematic analysis. In-depth individual semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data.

The results showed two overarching themes namely rural repulsion (including six organizing themes: family and social determinism, weak infrastructure, geographical isolation, environmental challenges, weak economic conditions and weak local and regional management) and urban attraction (including four organizing themes: personal improvement, economic opportunities, social opportunities, and the use of infrastructures and facilities) are the most important causes of rural elites’ migration. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the elites’ participation in rural development could be possible through three overarching themes namely empowering villagers (including four organizing themes: capacity assessment, skill training, strengthening vitality, raising the level of villagers' demands), developing employment and entrepreneurship (including two organizing themes: promoting innovation and economic investment) and efficient rural management (including two organizing themes: managing social challenges and occupying managerial positions).

The rural elites’ migration is accompanied by many negative consequences for rural communities. Nevertheless, there is a gap in studies regarding its causes and especially how to attract their participation in the process of rural development. The present study can be a basis for future researches in this field.

Having an acceptable level of various components of development is the inalienable right of the hardworking rural community. Nevertheless, researches show that there are many shortcomings regarding the rural community's enjoyment of development components. One of the most important components of development is the availability of welfare variables for the rural community. The aim of the present quantitative and applied research is to investigate and spatially analyze how the rural areas of Iran enjoy in terms of welfare variables. The required data has been collected from the Iranian Statistics Center in 2022. For data analysis, a combined method has been used (combination of findings from decision-making models, cluster analysis technique and geographic information system). In terms of welfare indicators, the research results showed that the three provinces of Alborz, Hormozgan and Bushehr, respectively, with a priority coefficient of 0.492, 0.48134 and 0.4813, they are the most privileged and The three provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, Lorestan and North Khorasan, They are the weakest provinces of Iran with priority coefficients of 0.052, 0.163 and 0.198 respectively. The results of cluster analysis showed, 11 provinces of Iran have been placed at a relatively developed level, 10 provinces at the level of medium development, 9 provinces at deprived level and The Sistan and Baluchistan province is placed at a very disadvantaged level. The results of the spatial analysis of Iran's provinces in terms of the prosperity index in rural areas showed that, most of the border provinces are in unfavorable conditions compared to the central provinces of Iran. The results of the fitted multivariate regression model showed the Income variable, with a determination coefficient of 0.564 and a beta coefficient of 0.751., is a most key factor affecting the level of well-being in rural areas.

Along with the normal process of population growth in peri-urban areas, migration to these spaces is one of the main causes of the transformation of their physical-physical, social and economic structure and has made these residential spaces face many challenges.According to the documents of the Statistics Center of Iran, Kurdistan province, along with provinces like Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari and Zanjan, due to the deprivation of rural settlements in terms of environmental, social and economic indicators, there is a traditional process of migration (migration from the village to the city) and it is predicted that This process will continue in the future. Among the cities of Kurdistan province, the peri-urban areas located in the vicinity of Sanandaj city, especially the peri-urban area of Naysar, is one of the most important destinations for rural migrants, as this peri-urban area has experienced rapid population growth in recent years. The increase in the population of this peri-urban area from 938 people to about 85,000 thousand people in 2019 is a seal of approval for the rapid population growth of this peri-urban area. Meanwhile, the undeniable fact is that Naysar is one of the most populous suburban areas of Kurdistan province. Therefore, it is very important to analyze the most important causes of this population growth and related topics. According to the mentioned materials, the questions that can be raised in this regard are: What is the level of satisfaction of rural migrants from living in Naysar? What are the most important factors of population growth in Naysar from the point of view of the rural community living there? How is the tendency to return to the village among the rural community living in Naysar? And what are the most important strategies for the return to the village from the point of view of the heads of rural households living in the peri-urban area of Naysar?

The type of research is applied based on the purpose and descriptive-analytical based on the method. The statistical population includes all heads of rural households living in Naysar who have migrated to this peri-urban area in the last two decades. Among them, 150 people were considered as a statistical sample. The main tool for data collection is a questionnaire whose validity and reliability have been confirmed. A combination of quantitative (frequency distribution table, average comparison test and exploratory factor analysis in SPSS software) and qualitative (content analysis) methods have been used to analyze the collected data.

The results showed that the level of satisfaction with living in Naysar, with an average of 2.271, is at a lower than average level and The five key factors of rapid population growth in Naysar, which explained 62.627 percent of its variance, in order of importance are: low cost of accommodation and economic activities (17.846 percent), laxity in rules and regulations of peri-urban spaces (360 12.0 percent), access to infrastructure (12.340 percent), benefit from opportunities (11.617 percent) and false attractions of urbanization (8.463 percent). Also, the results showed that the average calculated for returning to the village with an average of 2.962 is at the average level and Sustainable job creation in the villages, allocation of government loans and credits according to the conditions of the villagers and strict implementation of construction laws and regulations in Naysar are the most important solutions for the return of the villagers to their original village.

Despite Naysar many challenges in different aspects of development, the surveys showed that the tendency of the studied community to return to the villages is at an average level. This situation indicates that the migrant rural community settled in Naysar have faced many challenges in their original village, despite the relatively weak level of satisfaction with their place of residence, they do not have much tendency to return to their original village. Therefore, the main link of Naysar peri-urban population can be found in the weak development and deprivation of the villages of Kurdistan province. The unaffordability of economic activity, especially in the livestock, horticulture, agriculture, etc., weak educational and health infrastructures, lack of job opportunities, unemployment, successive droughts, etc., are linked in a chain. It has provided the basis for the migration of villagers to the peri-urban space of Naysar. The process that has faced the space of origin and destination of migration with many challenges.In the meantime, attention to the opinions and solutions proposed by the heads of rural households, who have an average of 12 years of experience of migrating from the village and settling in the peri-urban area, is interesting in its own way. Carefulness in the nature of the proposed solutions shows that most of the solutions have a management aspect, however, attention should be paid to strengthening the economic base of rural households through sustainable job creation in the villages (location-based jobs), allocation of government loans and credits according to the conditions of the villagers, industrialization of the villages (construction Transformational and complementary industries of agriculture and horticulture and livestock products processing industries), guaranteed purchase of villagers' products and products in accordance with market conditions and establishment/activation of multi-purpose rural cooperatives have been the focus of the studied community. Another important aspect of the proposed solutions is the attention of the rural community to strict implementation of construction laws and regulations in Naysar. According to them, by implementing this solution, villagers will be less encouraged to migrate to this peri-urban space. Also, the results showed that the strengthening and development of essential service and welfare infrastructures in villages (educational, health, transportation, recreational, etc.) rural to urban spaces, to provide the necessary background and platform to return to the villages.

Various factors contribute to the successful formation or distortion of this image. In the meantime, not only natural factors play a role in the image of the destination; more importantly, the inhabitants of an area form foundation of the destination image. One of the most effective issues in the image of a tourist destination is human and natural hazards. In fact, environmental hazards can act as a Strong repulsion to travel to a tourist destination or distort the image of a tourist destination. The importance of this has led us to explore the potential risks and impact on the image of tourists from the region in the Miankooh area. Exploring this issue can help enrich theoretical and empirical studies of the problem of imaging capital for tourist destinations. Also, due to the novelty of the tourism industry in the case study, it will help local policy-makers to pay special attention and inform environmental hazard management and improve the imaging capital of the region to diversify income, equitable income distribution and social sustainability.

A combined methodology based on the philosophy of pragmatism was chosen to conduct this research. A sample of 15 experts living in the area selected as Snowball sampling was used to identify possble hazards in the study area, and then a questionnaire was distributed among 194 tourists in the Miankooh area, and data was collected to factor these hazards based on their impact on the image of the tourist destination.

In the present study, we asked the experts to describe the extent and probability of each risk occurring during different months of the year. After stating the possible occurrence in the year, we asked the experts to prioritize the risks based on the extent and probability of occurrence. According to the survey, road biographies were identified as the most likely hazard in the region. After that, drought, rock fall, and flooding were ranked next.The results of the impact of environmental risks on the capital picture show that they can be identified in four factors and the general category. These four factors include a lack of human security and privacy threats, climate crises and rock falls, a lack of adherence to the principles of human interaction with the environment, and geological risks. The factors in question account for 65% of the tourism image of the study area.

The research literature shows that the image of the destination and its related concepts, due to its effects on supply and demand in marketing, is an important indicator in the rural and natural tourism. Despite the widespread attention of researchers to this concept, there is a gap in the comprehensive conceptualization of the image, its complex relationships and the factors affecting it. Many aspects of this complex structure have not yet been explored experimentally and operationally. The identification of environmental hazards shows that many hazards, due to the mountainous nature of the region, the occurrence of such natural hazards seems logical to some extent, but the weak infrastructure and the lack of correct location and warning signs have doubled the damages of these hazards. And they will play a prominent role in the possibility of its occurrence in the future. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the infrastructure reconstruction, Guiding signs and other environmental and safety policies for mountainous areas. In addition, to reduce human risks, the host community should be involved in the tourism industry and provide them with the necessary training.

The tourism industry is one of the crucial economic sectors deeply affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, especially rural tourism, which has been one of the main sources of income and employment for the local community and residents of the tourist villages. Therefore, this study aims to provide a measurement model for factors affecting rural tourism resilience in the Shamshir tourist village (located in Paveh County).

The present quantitative and applied study is conducted by the descriptive-analytical method. The statistical population includes all residents of Shamshir village working in the tourism sector. In this study, simple random sampling available for research was used to obtain an ideal sample. And Cochran's modified formula (n = 121) was used to determine the sample size. The tool used in this research is a questionnaire developed by the researcher, whose validity was formally confirmed using experts' opinions. Its reliability was also confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for the experimental data analysis, and multigroup analysis (MGA) was used to investigate the heterogeneity of the socio-economic status of the villagers.

The results of structural equation modeling showed that among different factors, the human capital factor (β = 0.636, sig = 0.000) and financial capital (β = 0.255, sig = 0.000) have the greatest effect on the resilience of villagers.

Improving literacy levels and providing the necessary platform for earning extra income play a decisive role in improving the level of resilience of people active in the tourism sector. Thus, strengthening them should be on the agenda of policymakers and tourism development planners.

Considering the existence of numerous villages in nomadic ecosystems and the destructive effects of natural disasters on life, finances, and the environment, identifying rural settlements at risk of landslides as one of the most common natural hazards in the world and Iran can be effective in managing these crises.Purpose of the research: The purpose of the current research is to identify rural settlements at risk of landslides in the nomadic ecosystem of Paveh.

To achieve the goals of this quantitative and applied research, 18 factors affecting landslides were used and to weigh them from the opinions of 15 university professors, researchers and experts. for extract landslide points, Sentinel 1 radar images were used in Snap and Google Earth software environment and to analyze the data, ArcGIS software was used with the fuzzy overlay method.Geographical area of research: The geographical area of this study is Paveh city, located in Kermanshah province

The results of the research showed that in terms of sensitivity to the occurrence of landslides, 39% of the entire area of the county is located in areas with very low and low risk, 30% in areas with medium sensitivity and 31% in areas with high and very high sensitivity. Also, the results showed that it is located among the 53 populated settlements of Paveh county 35.8% of villages in areas with very low and low risk, 28.3% in the area with moderate sensitivity and 35.9% in high and very high sensitivity areas.

Considering the exposure of a significant number of rural settlements to the risk of landslides, the preparation of a sensitivity map to the occurrence of environmental hazards in these geographical spaces should be prioritized in land development policies and plans.

In order to establish order and balance in the hierarchy of the urban space system, as well as following the macro and regional policies for the development of human settlements, every year in our country, villages become cities. The policy of turning the village into a city leads to many changes and developments in the field of new urban space and sometimes brings with it many problems and issues. The inhabitants of these residential spaces are the most indigenous and local strata who are aware of the effects of this policy. Therefore, examining the effects of the policy of turning the village into a city from their point of view is an important step in criticizing and examining this macro policy in our country. The purpose of the present quantitative and applied study, which has been done by descriptive-analytical method, is to study and analyze the effects of the policy of converting rural areas to cities from the perspective of Shahoo Rurban residents (located in Ravansar Township and Kermanshah province). The statistical population of the study consists of 1049 heads of households, of which 150 are considered as a statistical sample. The main tool for collecting field data is a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity (formality) and reliability have been reviewed and confirmed. The results show that the level of residents' satisfaction with the policy of converting the village to the city with an average of 3.33 is above average. However, the results of the study of the effects of rural-urban transformation policy based on the main dimensions of sustainable urban development using the Wilcoxon test show the average rank calculated for the dimensions of social, cultural, economic and environmental-physical development in the pre-urbanization stage. 59.29, 48.82 and 13, respectively, which were changed to 55.38, 42.83 and 55.18, respectively. In fact, the results indicate the success of the policy of transforming the village into a city in the environmental-physical dimension and its failure in social, cultural and economic dimensions.

Rural economy, as one of the most important dimensions of sustainable development of rural settlements, depends on several factors. Income is one of the key components affecting the sustainable development of rural economy; therefore, an acceptable level of it can influence the well-being and comfort of the villagers. Considering the many challenges of the rural society of Iran, investigating their income as well as identifying the factors affecting the income level of the rural society can prepare the ground for policy-making and planning to increase the income level and consequently develop rural economy. Therefore, the aim of this quantitative and applied research is to investigate and spatially analyze the level of income and identify the key factors influencing it in rural areas of Iran. The required data were obtained from Iran Statistics Center in 2022, and SPSS and ArcGIS software were used for data analysis. The spatial presentation of the income level in the provinces of Iran showed that most border rural areas were deprived or very deprived. The results of correlation between the level of income and the independent variables showed that the four variables of having welfare infrastructure, literacy percentage, the percentage of employees in the service sector and employees regularly working 49 hours and more had a statistically significant positive relationship with the income level of villagers and the three variables of the percentage of employees in the agricultural sector, the percentage of rural population and distance from the center (capital) had a statistically significant negative relationship with the dependent variable. The results of multiple regression showed that the two variables of having welfare infrastructure and the percentage of employees in the service sector with regression coefficients of 0.615 and 0.512, respectively, are included in the final fitted model (by explaining 63.6% of the income variance of the rural society of Iran), and they influence explaining the variance of income.

Owramanat County in Kermanshah province with 14 tourism regions, is one of the best tourist destinations of Kermanshah province, in which the tourism activists have faced challenges during the period of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate and analyze the resilience of rural tourism and identify the key drivers affecting it in the face of Covid-19 pandemic in Owramanat County.

Design/methodology/approach:

 the present applied, quantitative study has been conducted with a combined approach (combination of descriptive-analytical and exploratory methods). The questionnaire method was used for data collection and its validity and reliability have been confirmed by observing scientific principles. In order to achieve the purposes of the study, the opinions of 150 people from the local community active in the field of tourism were used to evaluate the resilience, and the opinions of 30 experts were used to identify the primary factors affecting the resilience and also the views of 25 experts were taken into consideration in order to identify the key drivers affecting the resilience of rural tourism. The SPSS and MICMAC software were used to analyze the collected data.

The research findings showed that, the average of four variables including local government budget, environmental knowledge, community welfare, and social support system as the main components of the resilience of rural tourism were 1.757, 2.358, 1.808, and 2.295 respectively and have been significantly lower than the base average. The overall assessment results showed that the calculated average with a value of 2.014 has been significantly lower than the medium level. The results also showed that, among 17 factors affecting the resilience of tourism, 5 factors of government financial support, financial capital, sanitary equipment, infrastructural facilities and disease control are the most effective key drivers on resilience.

Originality/ value:

 Evaluation and analysis of the resilience of rural tourism in the face of Covid-19 pandemic with an approach of presenting the key indicators and variables in this field and also identification of key drivers affecting the resilience of rural tourism have received less attention from researchers and this proves the originality of the present study.

Providing employment and eliminating inequality between regions in order to create regional balance is one of the concerns of policy makers and regional development planners and in rural communities that play a key role in providing raw materials and food security, its importance is twofold. The aim of this quantitative and applied research is spatial analysis of employment indicators in rural areas of 31 provinces of Iran. The findings of the research showed that in terms of employment indicators, the three provinces of Zanjan, Ardabil and Qazvin, with final scores of 0.3337, 0.2373, and 0.232, ranked first to third, and three provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, Kohgiluyeh & BoyerAhmad and Kerman, respectively, occupied the lowest ranks with final scores of -0.3788, -0.318, and -0.218. The results of spatial analysis showed that if we divide the entire country into two parts, northern and southern, the northern half of the country is in a better situation than the southern half in terms of having employment indicators. The results of Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that there is a statistically significant and negative relationship between provinces' employment indicators and the distance from the center variable at the 99% confidence level.

In order to achieve rural development, the formation and activation of cooperatives is one of the most important solutions that policy makers and rural development planners are concerned about. In this regard, social capital is the foundation and main pillar of the formation of cooperatives and plays a significant role in the formation and development of cooperatives. Therefore, the aim of this quantitative and applied research is to investigate the role of social capital on the formation and development of rural cooperatives, which was conducted as a case study in Fars province. The statistical population of the research is made up of the active cooperative members of Fars province, among whom the desired statistical sample is fulfilled. The main tool for collecting field data was a researcher-made questionnaire, whose validity and reliability have been confirmed by following the principles of field research methods. SPSS and Amos Graphics software were used for data analysis. The results of the research showed that the status of social capital indicators is at a relatively acceptable level But The satisfaction status of the members with the indicators related to the performance of rural cooperatives is at a weak level. The results of the final and fitted model of structural equations regarding the investigation of the effect of social capital on the performance of rural cooperatives showed that the independent variable was able to explain about 16% of the variance of the dependent variable of the research with a total effect of 0.397.

- Participation of citizens in various urban affairs brings many benefits such as enhancement of social capital, satisfaction, and improvement of the civil society.
- A condition for achievement of sustainable development in today’s cities is the participation of citizens in its various affairs.
- The constituent components of citizens’ participation include mental-spiritual participation, participation in provision of human resources, political participation, and financial participation.
- A low level of participation of citizens in urban management can be attributed to various factors, including the weakness of city managers and the rules and regulations concerning their selection, citizens’ lack of concern, etc.

Citizens’ participation in various matters of urban spaces is one of the most important issues in achievement of sustainable urban development, an acceptable level of which is one of the most significant concerns of policy makers and urban planners. For achievement of sustainable development in Ilam, a border city in Iran, it is of particular importance to investigate the status of citizen participation in urban management and identify the factors affecting the level thereof, which makes up the main purpose of this study.

Theoretical Framework:

Living in a democratic society requires people to play an active role in various aspects of their lives (Predescu & Darjan, 2010: 3241). Citizen participation is of great importance in systems claiming democracy (Ginieniewicz, 2007: 328) and is vital for any democratic society, and democracy can be developed only through involved, informed citizens. In addition, it is important to have citizens ready to take responsibility for changing the reality of today’s world (Manganelli et al., 2012: 1476). For this reason, public participation is seen today as a new strategy in development (Khajeh Shahkoohi et al., 2015: 4). An inductive look at the existing patterns of participation in the world indicates that they can be classified according to three different criteria: the type of participation (1- decision-making, 2- financing, and 3- manpower), the field of participation in activities (1- construction, 2- environment, 3- ensuring city safety, 4- monitoring, 5- municipal services, and 6- social welfare), and the type of organization (1- spontaneous, self-motivated organizations and 2- formal, motivated organizations). Of course, it is also possible to classify participation patterns based on the activity to perform which the participation is made (Rezaei and Asyabani, 2018: 146).
In a general conclusion, it can be stated that citizen participation in urban management involves different aspects and a particular position in the issue of sustainable urban development. However, different factors affect the level of citizen participation in urban management, which can vary by urban space.

This is a descriptive-correlational applied quantitative study using the analysis of covariance-variance among correlation methods. The research area is Ilam, and the research population includes 194030 citizens of the city who are over 18 years old. 383 citizens were selected based on Cochran’s formula using stratified random sampling. In addition to documentary studies, the main research tool for data collection was a researcher-made questionnaire. It should be noted that the design of the questionnaire used to measure citizen participation in urban management was based on the works by Amirahmadi et al. (2016) and Meymandi Parizi (2017). The validity of the research tool was evaluated and confirmed through consultation of experts and university teachers (face validity) and also using convergence. Combined reliability coefficients (greater than 0.7) and Cronbach’s alpha (greater than 0.7) were used to measure reliability. The two methods of descriptive statistics (frequency, frequency percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation analysis and structural equation modeling) were used to analyze the data. It should be noted that one  statistical method used in the field of structural equation modeling is partial least squares, calling for the use of relevant software such as SPSS and SmartPLS to analyze the data.

The results of the structural model analysis demonstrated that the variable of satisfaction with the performance of urban managers exhibited a significant effect on other independent variables. Thus, it had the greatest impact on the variables of proper urban governance (with an impact factor of 0.275), job satisfaction (with an impact factor of 0.262), and social capital (with an impact factor of 0.255). On the other hand, the variable of satisfaction with the performance of urban managers exhibited the slightest effect (with an impact factor of 0.05) on the level of citizen participation in urban management, where we can point out the low level of citizen satisfaction with the performance of urban managers (2.37 on average).

The results demonstrated that there were significant relationships between citizen participation in urban management in the study area (the dependent variable of the research) and job satisfaction, satisfaction with the performance of urban managers, social capital, proper urban governance, quality of life (negative correlation), and sense of belonging to the place. Thus, it can be stated that the level of citizen participation decreases and increases as the level of each of these variables is decreased and increased. The results obtained from the structural analysis model (with the partial least squares method) indicated that the independent research variables were capable of explaining 75.8% of the variance in Ilam citizens’ participation in urban management. The values of the coefficients for the impacts of each of those variables on the dependent variable include 0.35 (quality of life), 0.05 (satisfaction with the performance of urban managers), -0.075 (social capital), 0.131 (job satisfaction), 0.372 (proper urban governance), and 0.275 (spatial affiliation).