Rural Hosting Model in Creative Tourism; Tourism Target Villages of Isfahan Province

According to villagers' perspective on creative tourism, the common definition is that local residents should be proud of the creative space of the village, accept active participation in tourism development programs, and have an appropriate hospitality with regard to tourism. The purpose of this perspective is not considering local residents as a tourist destination and not assuming that only tourists can achieve a notable evaluation of the local creative space. Instead, residents should be considered as a group having an understanding of the originality of the creative space in their living place which will explain their attitude to the environment and be better hosts for tourists. In other words, tourist destination should not be regarded as a commercial package being sold to the tourist and causing destruction in the space (i.e. the sold out products). Cultural and legal discourse, as well as the attitudes and perceptions of the residents should be considered in this package. Preserving the natural environment of the living place is one of the concerns of residents in the villages of Iran and they expect tourists to pay more attention to creative tourism (cultural tourism, village tourism, etc.) to protect the natural environment and consider other aspects. In addition, the status of host and the areas with better acceptance are of great importance in the villages of Isfahan province, being visited by many tourists. In this regard, the present study pursues two main objectives. The first goal is to cluster tourism villages based on behavioral and environmental factors and the second goal is to investigate the effectiveness of behavioral and environmental factors on hospitality by residents being tested using the structural equation approach.

The present study was survey in terms of method. The main tool was a questionnaire in which the scoring method was adjusted based on five-option Likert scale ranging from very high to very low. Amos software was used for modeling and k-means clustering analysis was used for separating the target villages. The obtained data were displayed in the Scatter plot. The statistical population included the residents of the target villages of Isfahan province. A number of 187 subjects were selected using the convenience sampling method and the questionnaires were distributed randomly.

The items related to "villagers’ attitudes" variables were higher than the average. In variable "participation", the items of participation in environmental preservation, participation in guidance, and interaction with tourists had a good average. In variable "perception ", all items gained a good average. In variable "physical infrastructure", the status of the target villages was acceptable and finally, the villagers were satisfied with hospitality. The results of clustering indicated that the villages of plain region (hot climate) including "Mesr, Garmeh, Bayazeh and Qortan" were placed in cluster 1 (higher average) and the villages of mountainous region including "Abyaneh, Asfarajan, Khafr and Nashlaj, Abyaneh" were placed in cluster 2 (lower average). Scatter plot indicated that environmental factor improved the behavioral factor. The coefficient of determination (R2) revealed that 79% of behavioral factor was explained by environmental factor and there was a good correlation between environmental and behavioral factors.

In summary, the research model suggested that if two factors of behavioral and environmental in the village have creative features, they will affect the hospitality by villagers. In addition, the effect of behavioral factor was reported. In other words, perception, attitude, and participation of villagers are good predictors for the realization of hospitality. However, the role of environmental factor was highlighted. Furthermore, the environmental features of villages such as cultural, physical and environmental space had a serious effect on hosting tourists. The maximum average of creative hospitality variables was reported in the eastern villages of Isfahan province (Plain region with hot climate) and the villages of Mesr, Garmeh, and Bayazeh had the best conditions. Such results can be interesting for researchers in behavioral geography. Considering the behavioral factor and rural originality will significantly improve the hospitality by villagers and the interaction with tourists. The importance of the present study on this point indicated that no negative effect was found on damaging the rural originality and identity in the target villages of Isfahan, being visited by a large number of tourists.