The Role of Tourism on the Socioeconomic Development of Iran's Rural Areas: A Case Study of Saman District in Chahar Mahal-and-Bakhtiari Province

Tourism in general and rural tourism in particular has expanded considerably worldwide, as a result of comprehensive development of innovation in post modern period. The flows of capital, culture and information in an overlap with factors such as the rise in income and level of welfare, more leisure, and improvements in communications make tourism a factor of development. The present study is an answer to this question: "What is the role of tourism in socioeconomic development of Saman district in Iran? Field study and completion of questionnaires from a sample of 376 which was selected by Cochran method in 15 tourist attraction villages showed that there was a significant relationship between the increase in the number of tourists, tourism boom and an improvement of socio economic indicators.