Opportunities and Challenges of rural tourism development in Lahijan County, Iran

Subject Areas : Urban and Regional Planning Studies

Nooreddin Azimi ¹ , Ghazal Alidousr ²

1 - ِDepartment of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Arts, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
2 - Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture & Arts, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Received: 2018-01-14 Accepted : 2019-04-26 Published : 2020-06-21

Keywords: Rural tourism, tourism potentials, natural and cultural attractions, Lahijan Region,

Abstract :

Along with the expansion of the share of tourism activities in global economy, tourism in rural areas has become a mechanism for the revival of rural communities and is supported by local and federal governments. Considering the natural situation and the existence of diverse cultural context in Lahijan Region, this paper tries to identify the potentials of rural tourism in this region. The main research method in this research is content analysis and the utilized data come mainly from documents and field-based methods (deep interview). In this research, we investigate the capabilities of rural tourism in seven rural districts of Lahijan (Roodbaneh, Shirjoiposht, Lafmajan, Baskiagorub, Ahandan, Lialistan and Lil). The results of the findings show that there are 14 types of tourism attractions in Lahijan Rejion which have been distributed in seven Dehestans (Rural District) and 28 villages. Of the seven Dehestans of Lahijan Shahrestan, Lil is considered to be the most important one, and among the villages, Sarcheshmeh, Chichi-Nikoti, Sheikhanber, Azarestan and Balaji Jarankish villages are the most important villages to develop tourism activities. The existence of foothill forests, nature, rivers and hills covered with tea gardens and rice fields, hiking, fishing, and religious shrines are the most important attractions of rural tourism in the study area. Finally, the paper identifies the barriers and problems of tourism activities in rural areas, and proposes strategies for the development of rural tourism in Lahijan Region.

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