Evaluation of Barriers to Tourism Entrepreneurship Development in Rural Areas (Case Study: Tourism Target Villages - Chaldoran County, Iran)

Purpose- Development of the tourism industry in a proper way, followed by the promotion of tourism entrepreneurship, calls for adequate knowledge and understanding of the barriers and problems in this matter. In this regard, the present study tried to evaluate the barriers to the development of tourism entrepreneurship in tourism target villages of Chaldoran County. Design/methodology/approach- The current study is descriptive-analytical in terms of nature and method, and applied according to its objectives. The statistical population in this study includes people living in villages targeted for tourism. To study this population, 212 questionnaires were arranged based on the modified Cochran's formula. Information and data were collected in 2018 using library and field studies (observation and completion of a questionnaire). After collecting information through questionnaires using simple random sampling, the data obtained after coding were analyzed by SPSS and Amos softwares applying descriptive and analytical statistical approaches. Findings- The results showed that all the studied factors were effective in the failure of tourism entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, social barriers with a correlation coefficient of 1, physical and economic barriers with a coefficient of 0.91 had the greatest impact on barriers to tourism entrepreneurship in tourism target villages. Practical implications- Rural tourism entrepreneurship, regarding the natural and cultural capacities in the villages, can play an important role in revitalizing the villages, creating employment and income for the people, protecting the natural, historical and cultural heritage, and finally providing integrated and sustainable rural development, because rural tourism is one of the types of tourism whose sustainable form in various economic, social and environmental dimensions, paves the way for achieving sustainable development of local communities.