Analyzing the Motivation Factors in Support of Tourism Development: The Case of Rural Communities in Kurdistan Region of Iran

Abstract

Not all groups in a rural community are expected to be homogeneous in their attitudes towards tourism development. For example, gender is a fundamental means to understand such differences. This paper examined the gender differences in support of rural tourism development. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Oraman County, one of the most attractive places for tourism in Iran, is taken as a study area to verify gender differences toward tourism development. Using a snowball sampling method, 134 people agreed to participate in the study. The study data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. All the study variables used continuum scales. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS and AMOS. Results: The results revealed that men were more motivated than women to support and engage in tourism development activities in their communities. The result of a discriminant analysis revealed that such factors as "contribution of tourism to the community" and "desire for diversification" made a statistically significant contribution to the discriminant function. In other words, these factors contributed to a statistically significant separation between genders of the respondents. In addition to gender, the respondent's number of dependent children, education, and the dependency of their job on tourism made a statistically significant contribution to the discriminant function of motivation to participate in tourism activities. Conclusion: On the whole, the constructs used by McGehee et al. (2007) (replicated in this study) have the potential for assessing motivation to participate in tourism activities. However, gender comparisons on motivation revealed significant mean differences between males and females.

Sustainable tourism development performance in the wetland areas: a proposed composite index

“…The region is currently being assessed by Iran's central government as a region for potential new investment in tourism development, given the relative success of wetlands areas in other counties' tourism development (Kometa et al, 2017). Previous research by the authors had established resident support for tourism development if such development was sensitive to local culture and followed sustainable environmental principles (Ghanian et al, 2017;Ghanian et al, 2014). Hence, this study was an attempt to create a management tool for regional planners and each village's leaders to monitor and evaluate future economic development activities involving tourism based on a set of indicators measuring sustainability.…”

“…In recent years, tourism as an economic development strategy has experienced increasing scrutiny as for its ability to improve the social-economic conditions of their communities in terms of tourism-derived business income, taxes and jobs leading to a better standard of living for the local population (Cá rdenas-García et al, 2016;Ghanian et al, 2014;Higuchi and Yamanaka, 2019;Ruhanen et al, 2019;Ghanian et al, 2017;Harrison, 2008). While tourism has been shown to provide such benefits to communities, the benefits are often outweighed by its costs in the forms of environmental degradation; negative social and cultural impacts; and habitat fragmentation (Choi and Turk, 2011;Twining-Ward and Butler, 2002).…”

The Role of Rural Tourism in Sustainable Rural Development: A Case Study of Shandiz Rural Region, Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran

“…Therefore, rural tourism plays an important role in wealth aggregation through capacity building and developing a unique identity for rural settlements (Silva & Leal, 2015). If tourism becomes a viable means of earning more money, rural residents might be more motivated to participate in tourism development (Ghanian et al, 2017). Furthermore, the capacity building compatible with environmental capabilities and geographical amenities is the most optimal type of planning for rural sustainability (Moloney & Fünfgeld, 2015).…”

World Heritage Tourism Triggers Urban–Rural Reverse Migration and Social Change

“…Tourism is an important and growing sector of the Iranian economy (WTTC 2016; Khoshkhoo et al 2017), though strongly affected by geopolitical factors (Khodadadi 2018; Pratt and Alizadeh 2018). It includes cultural, rural, eco, and adventure components (Azimi and Avetisyan 2017; Ghanian et al 2017; Mosammam et al 2016; Seyfi, Hall, and Kuhzady 2018). Heritage designation is used routinely in tourism branding in Iran (Saeedi and Heidarzadeh Hanzaee 2018), as elsewhere (King and Halpenny 2014).…”