Explaining a Framework for Expanding Support for the Development of Rural Tourism Based on the Integration of Social Exchange and Place Image Theories (Case Study: Villages in the Wetland Areas of the Khuzestan Province

This study aimed to explain factors affecting the support of tourism development among the residents of wetland areas of the Khuzestan province, focusing on the development of a conceptual framework based on the social exchange and place image theories. The research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire which its reliability was confirmed using composite reliability, as well as Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and its validity was confirmed in three ways: content, construct, and discriminant. The statistical population of this study was the households living in the villages located in the four wetland areas of Khuzestan province, namely Shadegan, Miangaran, Bamedeh, and Hoor Al Azim. Using a stratified sampling method, we selected 316 households. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS and AMOS software. The results showed that the framework developed in this study based on social exchange theory and place image was able to fit the data well identify more variables affecting the support of tourism development among the residents of Khuzestan wetlands. Among the variables of the theoretical framework, the awareness and place image had an effect on the perception of socio-cultural impacts, and the perception of the socio-cultural effects had an influence on the residents' attitude toward tourism development and also support for tourism development in the Khuzestan wetlands.