Approaches to Development the Tourism Industry in Guilan Province

Subject Areas : Urban and Regional Planning Studies

mehrdad godarzvand chegini ¹ , nasrollah molaei hashjin ²

1 - استادیار گروه مدیریت دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد رشت
2 - دانشیار گروه جغرافیای استانی دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد رشت

Received: 2008-11-21 Accepted : 2009-09-16 Published : 2009-08-23

Keywords: Tourism Industry, Ecotourism, Guilan Province, Regional geographical factors, Approaches to development,

Abstract :

Tourism plays an important role in the economy of the societies. Recognizing the accurate and deep dimensions of various tourism attractions is the key factor to the improvement of the tourism market. Tourism industry, within the last decades, has grown up with an increasing growth rate, and is a considerable source of income for a number of both developed and developing countries. Based on this, the following research is performed through a survey method. The population under study included managers and administrative decision makers in economic, social and cultural sectors connected to the tourism industry in Guilan which is characterized through cluster sampling. The measure to evaluate the face validity of the expert opinion in the tourism industry was a questionnaire. To delineate the reliability factor, a Cronbach Alpha coefficient was used. A coefficient of 871% is indicative of high reliability and capacity of the measure. Then, the data collected were analyzed by applying the SPSS software. One of the major findings of the research is that the ecotourism can be used as the main effective approach to improve and develop the industry with regard to the cultural and social situations in the country. Among the geographical attractions, the sea and its coasts have had the highest influence in attracting the tourists to Guilan province.