GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM SPACE
Year:2012 | Volume:1 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

Today tourism is considered as a growing and most progressive industry of the world and as a means to increase the national income of countries. Rural tourism may be the most appealing and newest part of the industry to which much attention has recently been paid. Development of tourism in rural areas is an essential element and as a way to alleviate poverty, socioeconomic problems and to diminish the migration rate and provide social welfare. It is also important to keep the characteristics of traditional culture, cultural relationships and texture of the villages and preserve the natural resources. 15villages of Ab Garm Vill in Sarein District of Ardebil County were selected as rurals of the study area in the research. Though the villages were located in the vicinity of a tourism centre, but they were not benefited by its tourism activities because their potential capabilities were not recognized and there is no planning for them. Therefore, the present study seeks to identify attractive factors and the present state of amenities and tourism services as well as existing restrictions on the development of rural tourism in the vill. Finally, as we take the present state into account, try to provide some suggestions for the issues. In the study, we used a library and documentation searching to gather the required data, and a descriptive-analytical method. According to this research it can be concluded that the villages of the vill have many unknown tourism attractions and have few recreational facilities.

Having important social and cultural importance, tourism is considered as an economic strategy of modern and post-modern eras. The importance of this industry has caused a wide range of strategic decisions to be implemented to develop this industry in many countries. This research aims to identify and assess the spatial distribution of tourism capabilities of Boroujerd city and to investigate their strengths and weaknesses in order to achieve sustainable development. To achieve this end, analytical quantitative methods, numeral maps of political, topographical, geological divisions and satellite images using taken by Arc GIS and ENVI software were used. Results showed that the natural tourism attractions of Boroujerd city are of more importance than its historical and cultural attractions. Spatial distribution of tourism attractions also suggests that in the city’s central zones the highest percentage of tourism attractions (77 percent) is for its historical and cultural attractions, with 17 percent for its natural tourism attractions and 6 percent  for its special attractions. The frequency of tourism phenomena also shows that the historical and cultural attractions (with a frequency of 23) have the highest frequency while the man-made attractions (with a frequency of 5) have the lowest frequency in Boroujerd city.

The climate of a region can be considered as a natural tourism attraction. Due to having favorable natural conditions and specific cultural features, Roudsar city in the east of Gilan province has a high potential for tourism. This study is aimed at assessing the conditions of climatic comfort and determining the optimal tourism time in this city using the stress index. For this purpose, the average monthly temperature, relative humidity and wind speed of weather stations of Rudsar, Haratbar, Kakroud, Spely and Shalman were used for a 10-year period (2000-2009). The results show that bio-climate comfort conditions in area under investigation, in the months of April, May, June, September, October, November and December are good for tourism activities and, with proper planning, we hope that authorities can provide favorable conditions for tourism, recreation and leisure time activities, which can have an influential role in economic development, income raise and employment levels of the area.

Tourism industry is counted both as one of the most varied and pervasive industries in a way that it has caused a unique financial turnover. It has also been considered as an important factor in the cultural, social and economic progression and perfection of countries. One of the most important issues in deciding where to travel is the conditions of tourism camps in terms of both their costs and wellfare for tourists. Today, in developed countries around the world especially in America, special facilities have been allocated to tourists in camping zones. Isfahan as one of the most beautiful and most attractive province in Iran, despite having a high potential for attracting tourists, is trying to achieve sustainable development in tourism through disciplined planning. The present study aimed at investigating the establishment of camping zones in Isfahan using descriptive, analytical and field method and having experts and tourists fill questionnaires. Results showed that developing tourism camping zones in Isfahan can attract and organize tourists and organize the city physically and spatially. Tourism camping zones also reduces the urban traffic and pollution, and increases the stay time of tourists.

Sustainable tourism development tries to expand the industry and attract more tourists using the existing resources in such a way that it can follow the legal norms of society, the expectations of tourists, unity and cultural identity, environmental health and economic balance of the destination in an optimal, balanced and continuous way, along with responding to their economic and cultural needs properly. Tourism development in villages with valuable historical and architectural ecology-oriented context is in fact actualizing the values and architectural attractions of the village and introducing it as a tourism destination. Therefore, providing proper services and facilities and developing infrastructure for the visiting tourists and residents is essential. The study aims to investigate the how of sustainable rural tourism development through the preservation of rural contexts in Simin village in Hamedan province. Results showed that the revival and rebuilding of rural areas result in strengthening the role of rural tourism and if rural tourism is planned and managed appropriately, it can lead to a developed process o achieve a sustainable development in rural areas and tourism industry.

Land use planning is a science with a spatial and regional approach to understanding development capabilities with regard to spatial abilities. The interaction between land use planning and spatial development aims to achieve geographical justice, which is achieved through creating economic, social, cultural and political welfare. Among these, tourism is a multidimensional aspect of space development. Thus, in land use planning, tourism potential of each region is considered as one of the space capabilities which can be identified so that conditions for space development can be achieved. Land use planning in tourism in each region is done through assessing the feasibility for tourism development and is recognized through tourism development capabilities. Following a land use planning, the present study is aimed to investigate the tourism capabilities of Khorasan-Razavi Province with regard to its space development.

Women's share of leisure time is much less than men’s and their leisure, sports and recreation facilities are also much less and more limited than men’s. The dominant views in society regarding the women’s way of leisure time spending has been traditional, which is most obvious in housewives who believe that they should stay only at home, not go out to work. This study aimed to investigate the limiting factors in women's leisure time in Isfahan city District 3. To this end, Isfahan's female population residing in District 3 have been studied using a questionnaire distributed using Cochran method. Data analysis was done using Chi-square in the SPSS software. Results showed that age, education level, occupation, marital status and income play roles in women’s leisure time activities.

Planed and managed tourism can play a significant role in earning money, employment and tourist’s satisfaction. Using effective media and emphasizing specific parameters in tourist marketing will improve it dramatically. Tourist marketing is an effective means to explore and predict tourist’s needs. In this way, we can provide better facilities to fulfill their needs and encourage them for future visits. Tourists should be able to earn the necessary information like special sights, the ways to access specific places, facilities, accommodations, food, transportation, etc. on the internet. Thus, they can have a well-planned journey. Electronic tourism is a kind of tourism which is based on using the new internet-based information and communication technologies. The Google Maps API is a technology and web-based map service which is freely available. This free service from the Google is expected to be very useful for tourism planning and management. In this research, we tried to make a new horizon in the E-Tourism in Rouian Basin in the borders of Caspian Sea, Iran. This endeavour is an investigation of the Google Maps API applications for tourism marketing and planning. The results show high performances of this web-based technology for the purpose of tourism attraction in the studied area.