The Role of the Economy of Rural Tourism Experience on Place Attachment and Behavioral Intentions of Rural Tourists (Case Study: Countryside and Rural Areas of Ramsar and Chalous)

The purpose of this empirical study is an investigation of the effect of the economy of tourism experience in the countryside and rural areas of Ramsar and Chalous on place attachment and behavioral intentions through pleasant feelings and positive memories of tourists. This exploratory-descriptive research is of survey type, in which the main tool of data collection is a questionnaire. 184 questionnaires were distributed by available sampling methods in the spring and summer of 2017 among tourists and visitors of the villages and countryside of Chalous and Ramsar in the Northern part of Iran. To analyze the research data, 171 questionnaires were selected and structural equation modeling was used. Research findings show that "The economy of the rural tourism experience has a meaningful relationship with pleasant excitement", "The pleasant excitement derived from experience has a meaningful relationship with memories", and "pleasant excitement has no meaningful relationship with behavioral intentions of tourists”. Therefore, experience economy affects place attachment and, ultimately, the behavioral intentions of the tourists. This research can also guide future researchers towards managerial concepts in the tourism industry, in particular, rural tourism, removing limitations and ultimately provide constructive solutions and suggestions to relevant organizations and centers.