Investigating The Tourists' Perception of The Risks of Rural Destinations And The Factors Affecting It (Case Study: Tourism Target Villages of Gorgan Township)

The tourism industry, in addition to its advantages as one of the spatial objects, is facing risks and threatening processes that will face a decline in the benefits of this industry if not managed.  One of the most important ways to manage the risks of tourist destinations and maintain the destination is to improve tourists' perception of environmental risks before the trip. The present article examines and analyzes the risk perception indicators of environmental hazards of tourists in rural areas with descriptive-analytical methodology. The statistical population includes 267 rural tourists in the tourism target villages of Gorgan County. The collected data were analyzed using mean comparison tests, correlation tests, and heuristic factor analysis. According to the results, among the constructive dimensions of the risk perception variable (cognitive, emotional and functional) among tourists, the emotional dimension has the highest and the functional dimension has the lowest value. In addition, using exploratory factor analysis, the factors affecting tourists' risk perception could categorized into four factor; destination recognition, infrastructural and physical factors of destination, individual conditions and abilities, and social perceptions of the environment