Evolution of the Effects of Governance on the Development of Rural Tourism, Case Study: Nir County

Good governance and rural tourism are integral pillars for innovation in rural tourism and ultimately its success. This paper investigates the governance of the development of rural tourism in the County of Nir, Ardabil province, Iran, through a stakeholders' workshop where success factors for rural tourism in rural development were categorized as: governance, human resources, investments, research, marketing, communication and co-ordination. This study is descriptive - analytical in terms of research methods, practical in terms of nature and is a library and field kind of research in terms of the type of data collection. Sample size was determined based on the Cochran’s formula and the required data were collected through questionnaires. Content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by professors and experts and its reliability was determined based on Cronbach's alpha (0.92). the results of the independent t-test indicated that the relationship between governance indicators and the development of rural tourism. Finally, according to research findings practical suggestions are presented.