Assessment and evaluation of tourism activities with emphasis on agritourism: The case of simin region in Hamedan City

Abstract

Tourism in general and agritourism specifically have been highlighted as important means of improving and developing the sociocultural and economic status of rural communities during the last few decades. As a sustainable development strategy in rural areas, agritourism has increasingly attracted more attention from policy-makers, scholars and officials. The aim of this research was finding a localized but generalizable model by means of assessment and evaluation of important tourism gardens in Simin Region located in Hamedan City, which is a region with numerous tourism gardens, especially agritourism ones. The research methodology consisted of grounded theory and interview with four involved groups, namely experts, urban managers, residents and tourists who were familiar with the region. The interviewees were selected by snowball sampling and MAXQDA software was used for analysis of the concepts and facilitating the coding process. The results show that inclination toward small and temporary businesses in the field of agritourism is more prominent in Simin Region. Therefore, considering the existing agricultural capacities of the region, establishment and development of agritourism can help the farmers as a complementary activity in the agricultural sector. Also, if the presented solutions are properly implemented in this region, they can lead to other advantages of agritourism realization such as creation or strengthening of spatial branding, development of infrastructures and services, creation of more capacities for attracting tourists and economic prosperity.