درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- The aim of this study was to investigate the mental image of local residents of tourism destination villages in Karaj city regarding the economic and social effects of tourism and its effect on tourism development tendency. Design/methodology/approach- This research is based on an applied and descriptive-analytical method. Data related to any of the variables have been collected through questionnaires and interviews. The statistical population of the study is the residents of the villages of tourism destination in Karaj city. Out of this, 365 local residents of the villages were selected according to Cochran formula as the sample population. To analyze the research findings, AMOS and SPSS software were used. Findings- The results of this study showed that the mental image of the local residents of the tourism destination villages in Karaj is positive about the economic and social effects of tourism development. Also, the satisfaction of local residents from economic dimensions of tourism with a factor of 0.77 compared to their social mental image with a factor of 0.70 has a greater impact on the local community's desire for tourism development. Research limitations/implications- The difficulty of crossing the mountainous slopes of Chalous Road, the unwillingness of some respondents in the studied villages for individual and social reasons, the lack of sufficient statistics and information about the province of Alborz due to the newly established and non-differentiated statistics from the Tehran province are among the limitations of the research. Practical implications- Neglecting local communities in tourism industry activities is a major bottleneck in participatory planning in order to achieve sustainable development of tourism. In this regard, planners and custodians of tourism in the studied villages should develop sustainable tourism to meet the needs and desires of local residents, while the development of sustainable tourism will be impossible without the participation of local residents and their loyalty toward tourists. In this way, the maximum satisfaction of the local community is realized as an indispensable necessity for the successful development of tourism. Originality/value- In this research, we tried to provide a comprehensive and systemic approach which is a geographical attitude to evaluate the tendency of local residents of target tourism villages of Karaj County about tourism effects. In addition, the effect of this attitude was examined on local community satisfaction using structural equation modeling.

Purpose- The present study aims at establishing border markets with the purpose of legalizing the deals and economic boom, employment, and promoting life standards in border areas. The main purpose of the present study is to analyze the physical and economic effects of border markets on the development of rural areas. Design/methodology/approach- The present study is an applied study with regard to nature, and descriptive-analytic with regard to methodology. The population of this study includes the villages in the city of Agh-Ghala; 7 villages were selected as the sample, and the data was collected through researcher made questionnaires (383 questionnaires according to Cochran formula). Data analysis was done using Friedman, Chi square, Wilcoxon, and one sample t-tests in SPSS. Findings: Developing border markets leads to improvement in economic and physical indices in rural areas. The most effects were found on the quality of new-built houses, and the fewest effects were found on rural facilities and infrastructures. Border markets had important effects both on economy and culture of rural residents. The only component indicating insignificance was the effect of border markets on the reduction of unemployed people in the society, which is because of lower market boom during recent years and lack of free zones. Research limitations/implications- Spatial dispersion of the villages, limitations in obtaining information, and concerning about questionnaires being completed are some of the issues. Practical implications- Through planning and shift in attitudes in economic issues, sufficient attention will be paid to less considered needs of the residents of border areas; and the rural physical and economic indices will be improved through creating border markets. Originality/value- Border markets and their development can lead to the improvement and promotion of life quality of the residents of border areas and the population willingness to stay.

Purpose- The aim of this study was to investigate the role of tourism development in the promotion of social welfare in rural East Azerbaijan province. Design/methodology/approach- The research paper is based on analytical-explanatory technique; it was carried out through a survey. The research population comprises the residents of the tourist villages. Five hundred (500) participants were selected as the sample size based on Cochran formula. Experts confirmed the face validity of the questionnaire. They performed a pilot study on 60 questionnaires within the same region. The applied questionnaire was 0.885 to 0.894 reliable based on the obtained data using Cronbach alpha. Finding- Spearman’s correlation test revealed that all research variables were positively and significantly related to tourism except sense of safety and security as well as improvement of consumption patterns. In addition, results of Mann-Whitney test showed that tourism and social welfare were more associated with tourist villages of East Azerbaijan than that of other non-tourist villages. In addition, the results of regression analysis revealed that 9 variables out of 11 obtained 89% of the variations. Accordingly, the variables of quality of life, occupation, and future expectancy have been more effective. Research limitations/implications- The recommendations in this research paper can be used in different areas of tourism management and development of villages in this region.