Identifying Obstacles to the Establishment and Development of Ecotourism Residence in the Rural Areas Of Guilan Province

Abstract

Attention to the preservation of the environment and the local economy has made ecotourism a focus of planners and tourism professionals in recent years. In order to achieve the goals of ecotourism, the development of Ecotourism Residence is one of the most effective ways. In this regard, the province of Guilan, as one of the main tourism destinations in Iran with a large number of attractions and tourism resources, has always been a popular tourism destination that giving enough attention to the principles of ecotourism can lead to the development of the province. Accordingly, the development of ecotourism residences in the rural areas has been emphasized by the authorities throughout the past few years. Therefore, this research intends to use a qualitative method to identify the problems and challenges of developing ecotourism residences in the rural areas of Guilan province using grounded theory. Based on a purposeful and theoretical sampling, 41 experts, tourism activists, villagers, and officials were selected. Semi-structured interviews and field observations were used to collect data and information. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation stage. Based on the Grounded Theory, data coding was done in three stages, and its results were six nuclear issues, including factors related to land use, marketing, administrative problems, attractions, the lack of training and facilities, and management and planning.

Keywords

• tourism
• ecotourism residence
• grounded theory
• rural areas of guilan province