Assessment of Environment quality of Villages' tourism Case: Asara County

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Assist. Prof., Department Geography, Faculty of Humanity, Shiraz University

Abstract

 
Assessment of Environment Quality of Rural Tourism DestinationsCase: Asara County (Karaj Township)
Received: 8/12/2014               Accepted: 26/5/2015
Saeed Reza Akbarian Ronizi, Assist. Prof., Department Geography, Shiraz University
Rana Shaykh-Baygloo, Assist. Prof., Department Geography, Shiraz University
 
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Environment quality is one of the main issues in development; In fact, the cause of much of the behavioral abnormalities -meanwhile having historical, cultural or economical source- has root in the quality of residential and work spaces. A high quality environment gives the residents a sense of welfare and satisfaction through its physical, social or symbolic attributes. So, the quality of environment of human settlements and especially rural areas of tourism destinations depends on the quality of infrastructures and well management. Tourists consider different points as tourism destinations, from natural original regions to historical and cultural sites, fairs and festivals. Each of these destinations has its own specific environment, which is supported by population of its functional and distributional area; two mentioned natural and human environments are influenced by development of tourism activities. However, tourism destination attributes affect on perceived quality by tourists, and the perceived quality relates to tourists’ satisfaction and their behavioral tendencies. The relationship between satisfaction and behavioral tendencies has been confirmed. So, environment quality is one of the effective factors of rural tourism development that plays an important role in local residents’ and tourists’ satisfaction. Regarding the importance of environment quality and its various components in the way of rural tourism development, this paper evaluates the environment quality of rural tourism destinations located in Asara county in the province of Alborz, and answers these questions: 1) how is the level of environment quality of rural tourism destinations in Asara? 2) Is there significant difference between the viewpoints of local residents and tourists about environment quality of studied villages? 3) Is there significant relationship between tourists’ viewpoint on environment quality and attracting tourists?
      
Research method
This paper is an applied research whose method is descriptive. Needed data has been gathered through library studies and field work. The basis of field work is questionnaire whose questions organized in nominal, ordinal and interval scales. Statistical population is the villages having more than 50 households in Asara County; based on some criteria such as population, distance and local reputation in tourism, five villages including Velayatrud, Nesa, Shahrestanak, Aderan and Tekye-Sepahsalar were selected. In this paper, the unit of analysis is heads of households and tourists. Sample size was calculated by Cochran's test (confidence level of 95% and significance level of 0.05) led to selection of 296 heads of households from 1299 local households in five villages, and 322 tourists. Based on library studies and content analysis, it was selected 40 criteria within 7 indicators including structural and functional quality, quality of tourism attractions, visual quality, environmental quality, quality of texture and transportation network, social environment quality, and environment dynamism. Analysis of attracting tourists was done through studying the indicators of the attractiveness of the village, Willingness to visit again, stimulating others to visit village, and Tendency to tourism development. Descriptive and Inferential statistics was applied for data analysis.
Results
Results show that among studied criteria, maximum and minimum amount of total mean are related to the “beauty of rural landscapes” from the set of quality of tourism attraction criteria, and “parking facilities” from structural and functional quality indicator, respectively. Since, from the viewpoint of population, maximum and minimum amount of total mean are belonged to the criteria of “accessibility to financial services” and “construction harmony”. Results of tourists’ viewpoint analysis show that the criteria of “beauty of attractions” and “local guides’ cooperation” have gained the maximum and minimum amount of mean respectively. Besides, analysis of the viewpoints of local residents and tourists in the level of total indicators show the significant difference just in “the quality of tourism attractions” and “environmental quality”. In the level of detailed criteria, Mann-Whitney test show significant difference between local residents’ and tourists’ viewpoints about some criteria such as “host services”, “basic curative facilities”, “leisure facilities”, “place palatability”, etc.   
Conclusion
In the way of achieving sustainable development of tourism in rural areas, it is necessary to recognize, assessment and promotion of the environment quality of tourism destinations. So, the present study has evaluated the environment quality of rural tourism destinations located in Asara County in Alborz province. Results showed that environment quality of studied villages is upper than average from the viewpoint of two mentioned groups. It is notable that the tourists’ assessment of environment quality is more proper in comparison to local residents. Results also show that among septet total indicators, indicator of “structural and functional quality” has more effect on attracting tourist.  
Overall, based on the findings of the study, the following issues can aid planners and tourism beneficiaries in the way of creating more sustainable and high quality tourism villages: Development and implementation of practical projects aiming at promotion of environment quality using the viewpoints of tourists and local residents, arrangement of rules and regulations for Protecting and improving the quality of various aspects of the rural environment, Developing a sense of responsibility among residents and tourists about rural environmental quality, and finally, Construction and development of appropriate recreational facilities for daily tourists.


 

Keywords


براتی، ناصر، سلیمان‌نژاد، محمدعلی، 1390، ادراک محرک‌‌‌ها در محیط کنترل‌شده و تأثیر جنسیت بر آن؛ نمونة مورد مطالعه: دانشجویان دانشکدة معماری و شهرسازی دانشگاه بین‌المللی امام خمینی (ره)، مجلة باغ نظر، شمارة 17، صص. 19-0.
پاپلی یزدی، محمدحسین و سقایی، مهدی، 1390، گردشگری (ماهیت و مفاهیم)، چاپ پنجم، انتشارات سمت، تهران.
پورجعفر، محمدرضا، تقوایی، علی‌اکبر، صادقی، علی‌رضا، 1388، خوانش تأثیر ساماندهی محورهای بصری بر ارتقای کیفیت محیط فضاهای عمومی شهری؛ نمونة موردی: خیابان آزادی تهران، دوفصلنامة مدیریت شهری، شمارة 24، صص. 80-65.
داداش‌‌‌پور، هاشم، روشنی، صالح، 1392، ارزیابی تعامل میان فرد و محیط زندگی در محلات جدید با استفاده از سنجش کیفیت عینی و ذهنی، فصلنامة مطالعات شهری، شمارة 6، صص. 15-3.
رفیعیان، مجتبی، مولودی، جمشید، پورطاهری، مهدی، 1390، سنجش کیفیت محیط شهری در شهرهای جدید مطالعة موردی: شهر جدید هشتگرد، فصلنامة برنامه‌ریزی و آمایش، شمارة 3، صص. 38-19.
رضوانی، محمدرضا، 1387، توسعة گردشگری روستایی با رویکرد گردشگری پایدار، انتشارات دانشگاه تهران.
رهنمایی، محمدتقی و شاه‌حسینی، پروانه، 1383، فرایندبرنامه‌ریزیشهریایران، چاپ اول، انتشارات سمت.
سیف‌‌‌‌الدینی، فرانک؛ شعبانی‌فرد، محمد؛ حسینی، علی و رشیدی، مصطفی، 1389، سنجشکیفیتوظرفیتگردشگریشهریبراساسالگویرفتاریگردشگران وجامعة میزبان؛نمونة موردی: شهراصفهان، پژوهش‌‌‌‌های جغرافیای انسانی، شمارة 71، صص. 87-67.
شیعه، اسماعیل و علی‌‌‌پور اشلیکی، سجاد، 1389، تحلیلعواملکیفیت بخشمحیطگردشگری ساحلیباتوجهبه معیارهایگردشگریپایدار؛ مطالعةموردیسواحلشهررامسر، آرمانشهر، شمارة 5، صص. 167-155.
صدرموسوی، میرستار؛ پورمحمدی، محمدرضا و حاتمی، افشار، 1392، بررسیظرفیتپذیرش گردشگریباتأکیدبرتوسعة پایدار مطالعة موردی: سرعین، فصلنامة فضای گردشگری، شمارة 9، صص. 114-95.
علی‌زاده، توحید، علی، علی‌زاده، جابر، 1392، ارزیابی کیفیت محیط زندگی در نواحی روستایی از دیدگاه ساکنین؛ مطالعة موردی: روستاهای دهستان اصلاندوز واقع در استان اردبیل، فصلنامة مسکن و محیط روستا، شمارة 144، صص. 74-59.
قادرمرزی، حامد، زارع ممقانی، بیتا، زیاری، کرامت‌الله، 1392، ارزیابی کیفیت محیط مسکونی روستاهای ادغام‌شده در شهر سنندج؛ مورد: روستاهای حسن‌آباد و نایسر، فصلنامة اقتصاد فضا و توسعة روستایی، شمارة 3، صص. 56-39.
قدمی، مصطفی و غلامیان آقامحلی، طاهره، 1390، بررسیکیفیتمبادیورودیشهرهایگردشگریباتأکیدبرجامعة گردشگران؛ نمونة موردی: شهربابلسر، نگرش‌‌‌های نو در جغرافیای انسانی، سال سوم، شمارة 3، صص. 133-121.
کاظمی، مصطفی‌پور، سمیرا، سعادت‌یار، فاطمه‌السادات، بیطرف، فاطمه، 1390، تأثیر تصویر ذهنی گردشگران بر ارزش ادراک‌شده از شهرهای ساحلی دریای خزر با تأکید بر نقش واسط کیفیت عوامل درک‌شده، فصلنامة پژوهش و برنامه‌ریزی شهری، شمارة ششم، صص. 34-19.
کاکاوند، الهام، براتی، ناصر، امین‌زاده گوهرریزی، بهرام، 1392، سنجش تطبیقی تصویر ذهنی شهروند و شهرساز به مفهوم کیفیت محیط شهری؛ مطالعة موردی: بافت فرسودة شهر قزوین، باغ نظر، شمارة 25، صص. 112-101.
کوزه‌‌‌‌چیان، هاشم؛ خطیب‌‌‌زاده، مهدی و هنرور، افشار، 1390، نقشابعادکیفیتخدماتگردشگریدررضایتمندیگردشگرانورزشی، پژوهش‌ها‌ی ‌معاصر در مدیریت ورزشی، شمارة 2، صص 32-19.
گلکار، کوروش، 1379، مؤلفه‌های سازندة کیفیت در طراحی شهری، نشریة صفه، شمارة 32، صص. 65-38.
ملکی، لادن، حبیبی، میترا، 1390، ارزیابی کیفیت محیط در محله‌های شهری؛ نمونة موردی: محلة چیذر، نامة معماری و شهرسازی، شمارة 7، صص. 127-113.
Adeyinka-Ojo, S.F., Khoo-Lattimore, C. & Nair, V., 2014, A Framework for Rural Tourism Destination Management and Marketing Organizations, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, No. 144, PP. 151 – 163.
Butnaru, Gina Ionela and Miller, Amanda, 2012, Conceptual Approaches on Quality and Theory of Tourism Services, Procedia Economics and Finance, No. 3, PP. 375 – 380.
Butnaru, Gina Ionela; Stefanica, Mirela and Maxim, George Marius, 2014, Alternative Method of Quality Evaluation in Tourism; Case study applied in tourist accommodation units, Procedia Economics and Finance, No. 15, PP. 671 – 678.
Căruntu, Andreea Laura and Diţoiu, Mihail Cristian, 2014, The Perceptions of Hospitality Services of a Tourism Destination, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, No. 109, PP. 231-235.
Chin, Chee-Hua; Lo, May-Chiun; Songan, Peter and Nair, Vikneswaran, 2014, Rural Tourism Destination Competitiveness: A study on Annah Rais Longhouse Homestay, Sarawak, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, No. 144, PP. 35 – 44.
Ciaoce, C.A., Bona, M. and Ribeiro, F., 2007, Community Tourism: Montanha Beijaflor Dourado Pilot Project (Microbasin of Sagrado River, Morretes, Parana), Turismo-Visao e Acao, Vol. 9, No. 2, PP. 249-266.
Currie, Christine and Falconer, Peter, 2013, Maintaining Sustainable Island Destinations in Scotland: The role of thetransport–tourism relationship, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2013.10.005.
Duval, D., 2007, Tourism and Transport: Modes, Networks and Flows, Clevedon: Channel View Publications.
Endresen, K., 1999, Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage: A review of development assistance and its potential to promote sustainability, NWHO.
Frochot, I., 2005, A Benefit Segmentation of Tourists in Rural Areas: A Scottish perspective, Tourism Management, 26(3), PP. 335–346.
Hong, Tao; Ma, Tao and Huan, Tzung-Cheng, 2014, Network Behavior as Driving Forces for Tourism Flows, Journal of Business Research, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.04.006.
Lohmann, Gui, 2014, Destination Morphology: A new framework to understand tourism–transport issues?, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2014.07.002.
Lumsdon, Les M., 2006, Factors Affecting the Design of Tourism Bus Services, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 33, No. 3, PP. 748–766.
Martin-Cejas, Roberto Rendeiro, 2006, Tourism Service Quality Begins at the Airport, Tourism Management, No. 27, PP. 874–877.
Middleton, V.T.C. & Clarke, J., 2001, Marketing in Travel and Tourism, 3rd Edition, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Osman, Z. and Sentosa, I., 2013, Mediating Effect of Customer Satisfaction on Service Quality and Customer Loyalty Relationship in Malaysian Rural Tourism, International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, 2(1), PP. 25-37.
Prabhakaran, Sudesh; Nair, Vikneswaran and Ramachandran, Sridar, 2014, Community participation in rural tourism: Towards a conceptual framework, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, No. 144, PP. 290 – 295.
Rajaratnam, Sushila Devi; Munikrishnan, Uma Thevi; Sharif, Saeed Pahlevan and Nair, Vikneswaran, 2014, Service Quality and Previous Experience as a Moderator in Determining Tourists’ Satisfaction with Rural Tourism Destinations in Malaysia: A partial least squares approach, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, No. 144, PP. 203 – 211.
Van Kamp, I., Leidelmeijer, K., Marsman, G. & De Hollander, A., 2003, Urban Environmental Quality and Human Well being towards a Conceptual Framework and Demarcation of Concepts, a literature study, Journal of landscape and urban planning, 65, PP. 5-18.
Zeithaml, V., Bitner, J. B., & Gremler, 2009, Services Marketing, Integrating customer focus across the firm, Singapore: Mc Graw-Hill.
 
Refrence in Persian
Alizadeh, T., Alizadeh, J., 2014, The Evaluation of Quality of Living Environment in Rural Areas from their Residents’ View (Case study: The rural areas of Aslanduz in Ardebil province), Housing and Rural Environment, Issue 144, PP. 59-74.
Barati, N. & Soleiman Negad, M., 2011, Perception of Stimuli in a Controlled Environment and the Impact of Gender, Journal of Garden Landscape, Issue 17, PP. 19-30.
Dadashpour, H. and Roshani, S., 1392, Evaluating Interactions between Person and Life Environment in New Quarters Using Assessment of Objective and Subjective Quality, Urban studies, No. 6, PP. 3-15.
Ghadami, M., Gholamian, T., Aghamahali, Gh., 2011, Investigation on the Quality of Touristy City Entrance based on the Tourist’s Perception (A case of the city of babolsar), Journal of Human Geography, Issue 3, PP. 121-133.
Ghadermarzi, H., Zaremamaghani, B., Ziari, K., 2013, The Assessment of Quality of Annexed Villages Environment in Sanandaj, Case: Hasanabad and Nisar, Journal Economy of space and Rural Development, Issue 3, PP. 39-56.
Golkar, K., 2000, The Constituent Factors of Quality In City Design, Journal of Soffeh, Vol. 32, PP. 38-65.
Kakavand, E., Barati, Aminzadeh, B., 2012, Comparative Evaluation of the Image Quality of Urban Citizens and Urban Development (Case Study: Old Texture of Qazvin), Journal of Garden Landscape, Vol. 25, PP. 101-112.
Kazemi, M., Pour, S., Saadatyar, F., Bitaraf, F., 2012, The Effect of Tourist's Mental Image on the Perceived Value of Coastal Cities in the Caspian Sea, Research and Urban Planning, Vol. 6, PP. 19-34.
Kozehchian, H.; Khatibzadeh, M.; Honarvar, A., 2012, The Role of Sport Tourism Service Quality Dimensions in Sport Tourists’ Satisfaction, Journal Contemporary Studies on Sport Managemant, Issue 2, PP. 19-32.
Maleki, L. and Habibi, M., 2011, Evaluating Environment Quality in Urban Quarters, Case study: the quarter of Chizar, Journal of architecture and urban planning, No. 7, PP. 113-127.
Papoliyazdi, M.H., Saqai, M., 2006, Tourism (Nature & Concept), SAMT Publication, Tehran.
Purjafar, M., Rreza, Tagvaei, A.A; Sadeghi, A., 2009, Regulatory Impact on Improving the Quality of the Visual Axes of the Reading Public Spaces in Urban Environments: Case study: Azadi streets of Tehran, Journal of urban management, Issue 24, PP. 65-80.
Rafieyan, M., Moloodi, J., Pourtaheri, M., 2011, Assesment of the Urban Environmental Quality in New towns (Case study: Hashtgerd New town), The Journal of Spatial Planning, Issue 3, PP. 19-38.
Rahnamaei, M.T., Shah Hosseyni, 2008, Process of Urban Planning in Iran, Publication SAMT.
Rezvani, M.R., 2008, Rural Tourism Development (Sustainable Tourism Approach), University of Tehran Publication, Tehran.
Sadrmousavi, M.S., Pourmohammadi, M., Hatami, A., 2014, The Study of Tourism Carrying Capacity with Focus on Sustainable Development (Case study: SAREIN), Geographical Journal of Tourism Space, Issue 9, PP. 95-114.
Seifolddini, F., Shabanifard, M., Hosseini, A., Rashidi, M., 2010, Easuring Quality and Capacity of Urban Tourism, Considering the Host and Tourist Society in Isfahan City, Human Geography Research Quarterly, Issue 71, PP. 67-87. 
Shiee, E. & Alipur, S., 2010, Analysis Quality of the Environment According to Criteria of Sustainable Tourism, Coastal Tourism: a Case Study of Coastal Ramsar, Journal of Aremanshahr, Issue 5, PP. 155-167.