شناسایی زمینه های خلق ارزش در گردشگری روستائی : مطالعه موردی روستای اورازان، شهرستان طالقان

Extended Abstract

Introduction

Rural tourism development plays an important role in the integration of culture and tourism industry and facilitates the revitalization of villages. It also acts as an effective way to enhance shared prosperity. A rural tourism destination is a vast area where natural, forested and cultivated environments predominate, where specific natural, economic and socio-cultural characteristics, such as traditions, local cooperation, trust and reciprocity, coexist harmoniously, and is like a single tourism product that is small-scale, compatible with nature, has a local flavor and aroma, and in other words, is sustainable. In tourism destinations, value is embedded in a tourism service or product and can be exchanged to obtain benefits for the tourist. However, value creation is considered a joint value realization process that occurs between the provider of tourism services or products and the tourist. The present study seeks to answer the question: What are the areas of value creation in rural tourism destinations?

Methodology

The present study was a case study in terms of method and qualitative nature. A case study is a focused investigation of an individual, group, place, event, or community, and in the present study, the village of Orazan was selected as a case study location. The research participants were all residents of the Orazan tourist village in Taleghan County in Alborz Province, who provided catering services or tourism products to tourists. In the present study, data saturation was used to determine the sample size. Accordingly, the researcher reached data saturation after 10 interviews. The method used to collect field data was. In this method, the researcher entered the research field and communicated closely with the participants. The data collection tool in the field section was in-depth interviews. In the in-depth interviews, an attempt was made to collect the participants' lived experiences, attitudes, observations, and feelings based on the research objectives. The data analysis method was based on open and axial coding. The area under study was the village of Orazan. Orazan is located 12 kilometers north of Taleghan and is mainly known for its beautiful springs and waterfalls. The tourist village of Orazan is also known as Ab Rizan and is the birthplace of the famous Iranian writer Jalal Al-Ahmad. Due to the abundance of water in this village, there are numerous walnut orchards in this village, so one of the tourist attractions for tourists is buying walnuts from this area. The main fame of Orazan village is due to its numerous waterfalls, so that in this village there are a number of the most famous waterfalls in Taleghan such as the Hayad Waterfall, the Khoskeh Chal Waterfall, the Sorkh Band Waterfall, the Vari Yad Waterfall, and the Siah Band Ja Waterfall.

Results

The results showed that a total of 85 open codes and 15 axial codes were identified as the main categories in the field of value creation in rural tourism destinations. There are 15 effective fields in creating value in rural tourism destinations centered on the village of Orazan. Creative use of local facilities and tools, providing appropriate services and products to tourists, using new communication technologies to introduce the village, supporting local entrepreneurial ideas, correctly portraying the tourism destination, better communication with tourists, tourist satisfaction, planned advertising, online marketing and sales, creating new businesses, using domestic and foreign experiences, holding and highlighting various local events, developing local infrastructure, properly using the skills and knowledge resources of local people, and developing new products.

Conclusion

Tourism destinations have appropriate capacities with technological changes and socio-economic developments, and many tourists are looking for an enjoyable and unique experience from rural tourism destinations. In the meantime, paying attention to the main areas and platforms for creating value in tourism destinations can bring not only a competitive advantage for these areas, but also tourist satisfaction and loyalty and innovation in tourism products and services. Creative use of local facilities and tools and providing appropriate services and products to tourists along with creating new businesses are among these areas. Given that there are good natural and human resources in the studied village environment, only by using the creativity of the residents can appropriate and innovative services and products be provided to tourists. In fact, the objective manifestation of creative use of local facilities and tools is the production of innovative products. Any value creation in tourism destinations requires a mental image for using the desired services and products. Until such an image is created, the motivation of tourists to stay in tourism destinations will not be very high. Basically, digitalization in this context plays an important role in introducing the capacities of rural tourism destinations, which can represent different dimensions of the image of rural tourism destination brands.