The Assessment of the Role of Second Homes Tourism in Rural Economic Diversification (Case Study: Hesar-e-Valiasr Dehestan of Avaj County)

This study investigate the role of tourism second homes in rural economy diversification and improvement of creating job and income opportunities of permanent residents in the Hesar-e- Valiasr Dehestan. This research is applied; and the used method is analytical– descriptive. For data collection by the use of field studies، from a total number of 358 permanent households in sample settlements، 170 respondents were selected by using Cochran formula. For data analysis، statistical tests such as Wilcoxon، One sample T test، Kruskal Wallis and Spearman correlation coefficient were used. The results of the study shows a significant difference in diversification of rural economy in the periods before and after expanding second homes from the perspective of the respondents in the study area، so that the indicators of non- agricultural job creation and improvement of manufacturing infrastructures show the highest rate respectively and the index of job creation in were highly affected respectively and the index of job creation in agricultural activities shows the lowest. Furthermore، the result of the ranking of economic diversification indicators shows that the villages of Changureh and Esmaelabad had the highest and the villages of Abdareh and Qarabolagh are the lowest rank. Research limitations: The most important limitations of the research are: Low cooperation of some local authorities، the lack of information about second homes and their numbers in studied villages. Practical implications: According to research findings indicating the positive impact of second homes tourism development in diversification of economic activities in rural areas from the local residents’ viewpoints، it can be used as a tool to achieve sustainable development in rural areas، particularly in villages exposed to depopulation. Original/value: The importance of this research is to investigate the impacts of expanding tourism second homes in rural economic diversification in the study area. Therefore the research finding can be used in the explanation of the role of non- agricultural activities in and population maintenance in rural areas.