Identifying the dimensions of destination social responsibility from the ‎perspective of tourists in urban and rural tourism destinations of Guilan ‎province by classical Grounded Theory research method

The tourism industry is one of the most important sources of income for the countries of the world, and in the 21st century, it has been ranked as the second most important industry in the world. Tourism of a destination is highly dependent on its natural and cultural resources and has positive and negative effects on the environment. Therefore, social responsibility has been considered as a concern of urban and rurals Destination managers of tourism destinations more than before.

the main purpose of this research is Identifying the dimensions of social responsibility of urban and rurals' destinations in Guilan province from the Tourists' Point of view.

The present study, based on the type of data, is qualitative and based on the type of purpose, was basic and based on location, was field research and in terms of method and process, the data was classical Grounded Theory. The statistical population of this study was tourists and experts from all over Iran who have traveled to the tourist destinations of Gilan province for at least the past two years. The sampling method, due to the unlimited statistical population and the impossibility of accessing the entire required sample, was Convenience and snowball Non-probability Sampling. Data collection tools was semi-structured in-depth interview, which due to quarantine restrictions, more It was done by phone. The number of samples was 12 according to the theoretical saturation. Data analysis was performed through open, theoretical and theory-based coding using MaxQDA 2020 software.

Studied Areas: 

The study area of the research includes all tourism destinations, pilgrimage, entertainment, parks and green spaces, hotels, residences, restaurants in all cities and villages of Guilan province.

The findings show that the legal, environmental, economic, cultural and ethical dimensions are respectively the desired dimensions of destination social responsibility for tourists.

Because this study revealed tourists' perceptions of the destination social responsibility, the results could have important implications for marketers and destination managers; Because they can differentiate their destination products from others and in the long run enjoy great benefits such as long-term links between tourists and destinations.