An Assessing the Impact of Rural Tourism on Regional Development (Case study: Azarshahr Ghadamgah)

Tourism has special effects in rural areas and due to the nature of tourism activity and its close interaction with various economic, social and cultural activities, its effects can be very varied and widespread, and in particular have a profound impact on the environment of the host communities. Therefore, the overall objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of rural tourism on regional development (Case study: Azarshahr Ghadamgah). The purpose of this study is applied and in terms of nature and method descriptive-analytical and survey type. The statistical population of this study includes all tourists, locals and experts involved in Ghadamgah site. According to Cochran formula, the sample size was 384 persons and the sampling method was selected by available random sampling. One-sample t-test, one-sample t-test, Pearson correlation test, and structural equation modeling were used to test the hypotheses using Smart-PLS software. The results show that rural tourism has a positive and significant effect on regional development (economic, socio-cultural, and environmental) in Ghadamgah Azarshahr region and has caused rural development in the studied area. Also, religious attitude, awareness and knowledge about tourism, the intrinsic motivation of the residents, and dependence of the local community on the development and expansion of rural tourism in the study area had a significant positive effect.