Mohamadreza rabiee mandejin; Ali Gholami; Mohammad Alizadeh; Fatemeh Mohammadzadeh Larijani
Abstract
Introduction:
The growing attention to entrepreneurship in tourism research indicates the critical role of entrepreneurship and new businesses in innovation and value creation in tourism activities. The role of small and medium-sized businesses in tourism activities and their relationship with social ...
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Introduction:
The growing attention to entrepreneurship in tourism research indicates the critical role of entrepreneurship and new businesses in innovation and value creation in tourism activities. The role of small and medium-sized businesses in tourism activities and their relationship with social and economic development in rural areas highlight the development of entrepreneurial opportunities as a dynamic factor in the development of local communities. Therefore, the increasing focus on small businesses in tourism has directed the expert attention to the importance of entrepreneurship in such businesses.
Given its many tourist attractions, Khalkhal city has attracted the attention of local and non-local entrepreneurs in recent years. After 2011, Khalkhal faced an influx of tourists due to the geographical situation of the region. Located near the north of the country, the city is a tourist crossing point from the north of the country to Ardabil Province and vice versa. Therefore, many tourism entrepreneurs are now engaged in different activities in the city, which makes it necessary to pay serious attention to the approach of the tourism ecosystem. This requires planning and taking actions within the paradigm of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The entrepreneurial ecosystem helps find out about opportunities and threats by identifying relevant indicators and elements, thus providing a growth model for entrepreneurs. Therefore, supporting and strengthening the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem is one of the essential measures in identifying and developing desirable strategies to meet economic changes and social needs in rural areas.
Materials and Methods
As an applied study based on a mixed methods research design, the present article intended to identify and design a model of tourism entrepreneurship ecosystem in Khalkhal city. The statistical population of the study consisted of 15 local experts active in the fields of entrepreneurship and tourism. The Delphi method was used to collect the data. Having aligned the data with the theoretical foundations, the research identified and classified the elements of ecosystem by using the opinions of five academic experts and entrepreneurs.
Results and Discussion
According to the results obtained from the direct influence and impact situation, governance/leadership (a score of 1639) and networks/social capital (a score of 1475) were found to be the most influential factors impacting other elements. In the interviews, the entrepreneurs referred to the complex administrative bureaucracy as a significant obstacle to the development of tourism in the city. In fact, issuing a license in the tourism sector requires numerous inquiries from various departments, to which the delays of inefficient administration must be added.
According to the results, the first floor of the influence matrix housed the two elements of governance/leadership and physical infrastructure/attractions, which significantly impact other elements. However, the elements of community culture, networks and social capital, education and transmission, and business support services were located on the second floor, which indicates their high impact on the ecosystem. Moreover, the elements of human resources, financial infrastructure, and the life quality were in the second class, which indicates their high impact on the elements of the previous two classes. The first category also includes the element of contextual and general factors that act autonomously and have little impact on other elements.
Conclusion
Nowadays, the emerging hybrid and systematic view of issues, especially in the field of humanities, makes it even more necessary to pay attention to the study of the entrepreneurial ecosystem as the dominant paradigm in entrepreneurship studies. In this respect, the present article tried to study the rural entrepreneurship in Khalkhal city with an eye to the ecosystem approach. According to the results obtained from local experts in two complementary steps, it was found that the element of governance and leadership is the most fundamental element of the rural tourism entrepreneurship ecosystem in Khalkhal city. This finding is justified in light of the broad dimensions of the government in Iran, which play the same role in both designed models. In fact, the initiative of tourism entrepreneurship in the region is controlled by the government. Therefore, the reform of the legal structure, especially the laws supported and encouraged by the government, is the first step to the success of the tourism entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Mohamadreza rabiee mandejin; hassan oroji; mohammad alizadeh
Abstract
Introduction: Ecolodges are considered one of the basic elements in ecotourism, especially in ecotourism habitats and rural areas. Ecolodges have involved different components of the rural tourism system in the context of the origin and destination of tourism, and they have affected different dimensions ...
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Introduction: Ecolodges are considered one of the basic elements in ecotourism, especially in ecotourism habitats and rural areas. Ecolodges have involved different components of the rural tourism system in the context of the origin and destination of tourism, and they have affected different dimensions of rural areas. The relationships between these components and their place in ecolodges can be defined and explained in the form of different models. Therefore, explaining these patterns and redefining the elements and factors of Ecolodges systems has an important role in the development of future ecolodges and the development of different dimensions of villages. Ardabil province, located in the cold region of northwest of the Iranian plateau, with its various factors such as the diversity of natural resources, hot mineral waters, and their healing properties, can be important in attracting tourists. Khalkhal county is also known as one of the potential eco-touristic areas of the province. However, the city's rural areas are known only as transit ecotourism areas and have not yet been identified as an ecotourism destination. Accordingly, ecolodges have been built in the past few years, only in a handful of villages such as Khums, Kazaj, and areas such as Aznav. In this regard, there is no proportionality between the villages. According to those mentioned earlier, this study's main aim was to explain and present a model for the development of ecolodges in rural areas; Khalkhal city as a suitable and compatible case study to identify the main factors selected in the development system of ecolodges in a destination Tourism. The main purpose of this study was to participate in the theoretical knowledge in the field of ecotourism resort development system. In order to present the future development model, first, the current status of the Ecolodges system in the city should be identified by identifying the main factors and categories influencing the ecotourism system and ecolodges in the region and then by analyzing the conceptual patterns and views and identifying the relationship between factors and Their effects provided an optimal model for the future development of ecolodges. Materials and Methods: This research is applied type, and in terms of the nature of the data, it is quantitative-qualitative research. Research data were collected mainly through field methods, including structured interviews, group discussions, questionnaires, field observations and evaluations, library methods, and theoretical exploration. The study's statistical population to identify the factors and conceptual patterns governing the system of rural ecolodges in this county includes all experts in this field such as managers, entrepreneurs of ecolodges, and researchers familiar with the current situation of rural ecolodges. The statistical sample of the research is consciously selected. It includes four researchers with a history of research and field study in Khalkhal, four activists and entrepreneurs in the field of ecolodges in the region, and two administrative experts related to ecolodges and tourism in the city. Since this section has been analyzed through the Q analytical model, according to the limitations of elite and knowledgeable people, finally, ten experts were selected to evaluate and analyze this section. Inductive qualitative content analysis has also been used to identify and analyze the extensive components of ecolodges. Discussion and Results: First, the effective factors in the development of ecolodges have been studied in Khalkhal city. Therefore, eight influential factors have been identified, which are very different in terms of effectiveness and importance. The first factor is the most important of all. This factor refers to ecotourism capabilities to build accommodation in most villages of the county. It has shown a relatively high level of public participation in tourism in most villages. The main manifestation of this partnership is the supply of handicrafts and indigenous rural products to tourists. Of course, the size and geographical location of the villages are also involved to some extent in this issue. Another important point concerning this factor is the lack of significant differences between Khalkhal villages regarding ecotourism capacity and infrastructure and services. However, this factor points to the fact that the relationship between rural ecolodges with each other and urban resorts is not very strong, and the weakness of rural management and publicity has fueled this issue. Then, the dominant thought patterns in the development of ecolodges were identified. There are only two thought patterns on the development of ecolodges in the ruling village, but the first model is much more important in terms of influence and importance. so as to explain more precisely the process and structure of rural ecolodges in Khalkhal city, the main concepts and categories have been identified through inductive qualitative content analysis, which includes entrepreneurial communication, strengthening public participation, and satisfaction People, lack of a definite model for ecolodges, the role of roads, human capital, weak government management, relative incompatibility between rural management and non-indigenous entrepreneurs, the role of non-indigenous forces, injecting ideas for ecolodges, hastily granting ecotourism permits and creating conflict It is exclusivism. Conclusions: After analyzing the data and research results, the final optimal model is presented to develop rural ecotourism resorts in Khalkhal city. The main components of this model involve entrepreneurship and indigenous knowledge, non-indigenous ideas, ecotourism monopolization, attraction production, ecotourism acculturation, identification of holes and sensitive elements, creation of ecotourism complexes, ecotourism routing, ecotouristic cluster and network management, and regional network strategy. Eventually, the ecolodge system will move towards development, but a scenario needs to be developed for better management.
