Investigating the Role of Citizens' Social Capital on the level of their inclination towards tourist arrivals (Case Study: Citizens of Babolsar City)

Social capital can be seen as the cornerstone of tourism development, Undoubtedly, the action of the host community in interacting with the tourist has an important impact on the tourism boom. With the year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals to Babolsar, the present study investigates the effect of social capital on the tendency of tourists to enter. The research method is survey type and Using Cochran formula, 382 individuals were Determine and selected by multistage stratified random sampling. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire that was used to determine its validity by face validity and Cronbach's alpha for reliability. Data were analyzed by SPSS and Amos software at two levels of descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and inferential statistics (correlation coefficient and regression). The results showed that there is a significant relationship between social capital (with three dimensions of trust, bonding and social participation) of citizens and their tendency towards tourist entry. The route model showed that social capital accounts for 42% of the variable variance of citizens' attitudes toward tourist arrivals.