Rating the Aspects of Tourist Development in the Villages of Mamasani County

A complementary activity that could replace agriculture is now needed more than ever, given the increase of rural immigration, the decrease of income in rural households and the decline in the agricultural sector. Moreover, due to the inequality and widespread poverty among rural people in the developing societies, the development of rural tourism could be an important source of employment and income for the individuals of the villages. The most important part of tourist activity is to assess tourism because this step could lead to the future development of tourism and tourist programs. Mamasani County in Fars Province is one of the most important regions in Iran that has the potential for tourist development, given the fact that Shahi road (Shush to Istakhr and Anzan) passes through this geographical region, also because of its historical, cultural and natural heritage, and many works of ‘relief’, ‘historical hills’ and ‘fire temples’ along its main axis.
This study aims to identify the attractions of rural tourism in each of the villages of Mamasani County. Moreover, the advantages of developing the tourist industry for investment are prioritized in terms of six criteria (monuments, landscapes, cultural attractions, religious attractions, access, and suitable facilities) using TOPSIS decision-making technique.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: In recent decades, with the rapid growth of technology and the changes of lifestyle in the developing world, falling behind inequality in the distribution of the resources and the widespread poverty are getting more and more apparent in the rural regions compared to the other residential regions. Due to these problems and inequalities, researchers proposed many strategies to achieve development in the rural environments. One of these strategies is to expand the activities of rural tourism in the regions that have the necessary historical and natural potential to develop this industry. Rural tourism became doubly important because it helps the growth of the economy and also increases the income of rural people. Tourism can be an effective strategy for the reformation and revitalization of the rural regions or simply a reason for improving the infrastructural or even superstructural services in these regions. Tourism as a multifaceted phenomenon became one of the most important forces and factors in shaping the economic and socio-cultural structures of the modern world. Consequently, in an intermingling way, it transgressed the boundaries of time and space and brought about profound transformations in all human habitats such as cities, villages, and remote regions.
In this research, a descriptive-analytical method was used because of its relevance to the topic. The required data, related to the tourist capacities, were collected through field research and library method. Additionally, six criteria were used that were acquired by the experts and proposed as a questionnaire enquiring what kind of attractions do these villages have? Aspects such as monuments, landscapes, cultural attractions, religious places, access, and appropriate facilities that were filled out by the Islamic council, village administrator, and educated people were examined. The degree of importance of these criteria differ from one another, therefore, Shannon Entropy was used to determine the weights of these criteria separately. Afterwards, the variables were weighted by the experts, and the questionnaires’ data were examined by the TOPSIS multi-criteria decision-making model, and then the nine-fold villages of Mamasani County were rated. Finally, the weight of each tourist criterion was determined depending on the type and the number.
Fahlian village with the coefficient of 0/683 is rather closer to the ideal while the other villages such as Jowzar, Bekesh 1, Bekesh 2, Javid-e Mahuri, Mahur, Doshman Ziari, Mashayekh, and Mishan are far from the desired ideal as they have different coefficients. Moreover, in alternative rating based on the amount of , the calculated amount in the studied region fluctuates between .In this regard, represents the highest rate (Fahlian Village) and represents the lowest rate (Mishan Village). In addition, other findings indicate that due to the relative and geographical location as well as the historical and political situation of each region, there is imbalance and a lack of harmony between the villages. Especially, in the spatial distribution of tourist attractions and facilities which pave the way for developing this industry. Thus, the cultural attractions with the coefficient of 0/0666 are the same in all the villages and the landscape attractions in Jowzar, Javid-e Mahuri with the coefficient of 0/0768 have the best conditions because of their favorable weather and green space.
Based on the findings, Fahlian village, which has been the center of Mamasani County from the time of its establishment up to 1962, was rated as the highest with the coefficient of 0/971 because of petroglyphs, palaces, and many other ancient attractions. In the central vicinity of Mamasani County, after Fahlian, Bekesh 1 and 2 have the best locations for investment in the field of historical tourist development. Additionally, religious attractions had the most versatile conditions and coefficient of variation in the studied villages. Unfortunately, due to the fundamental weaknesses of the tourist centers in providing and expanding the facilities to attract tourists, the factor of appropriate facilities was rated as the lowest, and only Fahlian and Bekesh 1 with the coefficient of 0/0239 had a relative advantage because of having the centrality of the region. Reviewing the accessing factor indicated weaknesses regarding infrastructure in the districts of Doshman, Javid, and Jowzar because of being in the highland and at the foot of the mountain. Only Fahlian, Bekesh 1 and 2 because of coefficients of 0/0819 and 0/0702 and having a level ground had the suitable conditions. The final results of TOPSIS model showed that the central villages had better conditions for the development of the tourist industry. Therefore, Fahlian was rated as the first and Jowzar, Bekesh 2, Bekesh 1, Javid Mahuri, Mahur Milati, Doshman Ziari, Mashayekh and Mishan were respectively rated as the next favorable localities for the development of tourist activities in the region.