Profile of Positive and Negative Motivations of Local (Urban-Rural) Tourism during the Corona (SARS-CoV-2) Disease Epidemic

The epidemic of the corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) in the years 2020 until now (2022) has caused the emergence of critical conditions in the global arena and has transformed the international economic, social and environmental equations. The tourism industry, as one of the most important areas affected by this crisis, is experiencing new conditions due to the restrictions and quarantines imposed at the international, national and local levels, which have led to new opportunities, challenges and threats. Currently, due to the continuation of the restrictions caused by the Corona epidemic in Iran, inter-provincial travel has been announced as limited and prohibited, and in this situation, local tourism has become the focus of many people's attention as a cheap, accessible and desirable option. The aim of the current research is to investigate the motivations of local tourism (urban-rural) during the Corona epidemic with a qualitative approach, with the help of the grounded theory method. The studied population were Mashhad tourists who had at least five local tourism trips (urban-rural) in 2018 and 2019. The sample size of the research was conducted using the two criteria of "diversity" and "reaching the theoretical saturation point" with 44 semi-structured interviews. The interviews were fully implemented and then the open, central and selective codes were counted. The findings of this research indicate that the underlying conditions of attracting tourists to local tourist destinations during the Corona pandemic were "meeting relatives and taking care of personal affairs" and "accommodation in ecotourism resorts". Also, the intervening conditions were "nature tourism experiences" and "village tourism experiences", causal conditions, "corona stress and health issues" and "visiting cultural-historical attractions", strategies "physical organization of local tourism spaces", ecological revitalization of the environment" and " Reconstruction of the rural fabric" and the consequences, "diversification of the rural economy", "protection of the village environment", "giving identity to the village body" and "relaxation and mental and physical healing of tourists" have been. Based on this, the paradigm model of the current research was presented and some suggestions were made.