Analyzing the Economic Barriers to Tourism Development in Rural Areas Using Grounded Theory A case study of tourism target villages of Zanjan province

Rural tourism has been suggested as a strategy for the development of rural areas due to its diverse functions and high ability to communicate with other sectors of the economy. The purpose of the present study is to analyze the economic barriers to tourism development in rural areas using the basic theory of tourism target villages in Zanjan province. The present study is a qualitative research group in terms of purpose, development-applied and paradigm. Library documents, photo and video preparation, in-depth interviewing and direct and non-participatory observation were used to collect information. The statistical population of this study is local managers (experts in tourism, villagers and members of Islamic councils) in eight villages of Zanjan province. The purposive sampling method (36 people with snowball method) was performed until theoretical saturation. Guba and Lincoln's evaluation method (including four stages of validity, portability, stability, verifiability, reasonableness) was used to validate the research. The collected data were analyzed through content analysis. By linking open source coding, concepts (axial coding), categories (selective coding) and validating the concepts obtained from the focal method research, the conceptual model of the research was drawn by experts and validated by the experts to validate the model. . The results show that tourism target villages of Zanjan province are facing economic challenges such as: restricting tourism seasons, vulnerability of agricultural economy, weakness of individual abilities, inappropriate economic environment, lack of risk-taking, lack of recognition. The market is faced with a lack of technical business knowledge.