Maryam Mahmoudi; Mohammad Chizari; khalil kalantari; Abdolreza Roknadin Eftekhari
Abstract
Introduction
As one of the multifunctional agricultural strategies, agritourism refers to farming-related activities carried out on a working farm or other agricultural settings for recreational, tourism, and educational purposes (Arroyo et al., 2013). Despite the suitable conditions in the coastal ...
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Introduction
As one of the multifunctional agricultural strategies, agritourism refers to farming-related activities carried out on a working farm or other agricultural settings for recreational, tourism, and educational purposes (Arroyo et al., 2013). Despite the suitable conditions in the coastal provinces of the Caspian Sea, agritourism activities have not yet developed much in those areas. In this respect, the present study intended to investigate and identify the factors influencing the provision and development of tourism services by gardeners in the coastal provinces of the Caspian Sea, namely Golestan, Gilan, and Mazandaran.
Materials and Methods
The statistical population of this research included all multifunctional and monofunctional gardeners in Golestan, Gilan, and Mazandaran provinces. Using Cochran’s formula, the study calculated the sample size of monofunctional gardeners to be equal to 280 people (N=12004). A stratified random sampling method was to select the samples. Moreover, the research employed the estimation method since there was no valid data on the population size of gardeners providing agricultural tourism services (or multifunctional gardeners). For this purpose, the managers, officials, farmers, and village residents were interviewed, through which the statistical population of multifunctional gardeners was estimated to be 240 individuals. Using the Morgan sampling table, the study calculated the sample size to be 148 participants selected through convenience sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Cronbach’s alpha method was employed to calculate the reliability of the questionnaire. Considering the results of completing 30 pre-test questionnaires in Roknkola village located in Ghaemshahr city, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated to be higher than 0.7 for all sections of the questionnaire. Finally, the descriptive and inferential statistics (logistic regression test), done by SPSS software, were used to analyze the data.
Results and Discussion
This study showed that the relatively positive attitude of multifunctional gardeners providing agritourism services in their gardens towards agritourism whereas the monofunctional gardeners had a neutral perspective. The levels of knowledge and skills of monofunctional and multifunctional gardeners concerning agritourism development were moderate and high, respectively. According to the results, participation in entrepreneurship training courses, the level of knowledge and skills in agritourism development, entrepreneurial skills and spirit, and gardeners’ attitude towards agritourism explained 66.7 percent of the dependent variable (provision of agritourism).
Conclusion
According the research results, the two variables of age and income level did not significantly affect the prediction of the variable of acceptance and implementation of tourism businesses. In contrast, the farmers’ entrepreneurial knowledge and skills were found to be one of the variables influencing the acceptance and implementation of multifunctional agriculture and diversification of agricultural activities, including the provision of agritourism services. Hence, it is recommended that the entrepreneurial skills of farmers be strengthened as a creative and innovative response to environmental changes, including agricultural multifunctionality. Other recommendations are: Organizing appropriate training courses to strengthen farmers’ skills and entrepreneurial spirit using a balanced combination of human and technical communication skills; providing entrepreneurship education in school, vocational schools, and agricultural colleges in order to introduce and strengthen the concept and spirit of entrepreneurship; training the entrepreneurial workforce in cooperation with Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, and non-governmental organizations; establishing a system of incentives (esp. financial incentives) or subsidies for the farmers who have a specific business management plan; and providing financial and monetary funding for the projects with a prerequisite for entrepreneurship education.
nafise fazli; Abdolreza Roknadin Eftekhari; mahdi pourtaheri
Abstract
One of the most important subjects in tourism development assessment is the satisfaction of tourists from the ecolodge resorts quality. Naturally, increased satisfaction of tourists from the capacity and quality of recreation and residential facilities is directly proportional to the growth of tourism. ...
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One of the most important subjects in tourism development assessment is the satisfaction of tourists from the ecolodge resorts quality. Naturally, increased satisfaction of tourists from the capacity and quality of recreation and residential facilities is directly proportional to the growth of tourism. In this regard, the aim of this study was to investigate the tourists satisfaction from the quality of ecolodge resorts in rurals of Tehran province in the form of six indicators of the quality of infrastructure and health services, quality of infrastructure and welfare and catering services, quality of security, quality of territorial resources, the quality of physical infrastructure and the quality of environmental health. To this end, a questionnaire measuring the satisfaction of tourists from the quality of ecolodge resorts was prepared and standardized by statistical methods. Used method in this study is descriptive-analytical and its type is applied and the method of data collecting is done in both documentary and survey. The statistical population of the study is rural tourists in 6 rural accommodation centers. For determination of the sample size, the Cochran formula was used for uncertain or unconfined society with 95% confidence level, with the estimated number of samples estimated at 160. Data were analyzed using PASW software and CSM index. The results of the research indicate that the satisfaction of rural tourists in the quality of territorial resources quality has been higher than other sectors. In other words, the closest performance to expect is the quality of territorial resources, and the quality of the physical infrastructure is thereafter. This is while the quality of security has the lowest satisfaction.
