The Role of Tourism on the Development of Border Areas of Kermanshah Province (Case Study: Oramanat Region)

Today, the tourism industry as a fledgling industry, with its distinctive and unique features, has wide economic effects. Increasing employment, reducing unemployment, improving people's living standards and improving infrastructure are among the most important positive economic effects of tourism. And because of the role and importance of the tourism industry, many development planners and policymakers today refer to it as the principle of sustainable development. In terms of its objectives the present study is of an applied research type and descriptive-analytical in nature, which examines the role of tourism in the economic development of border areas. The required data were collected using descriptive-survey method. The statistical population included university professors, public and private experts active in the field of tourism and local managers. The statistical population was selected (174 individuals) using purposive sampling method and the measurement tools were questionnaire and interview. Content validity method was used to determine the validity of the instrument and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to examine the reliability of the instrument. SPSS software was used to analyze the data and Chi-square test and one-sample t-test were used to prove the hypotheses. According to the results, the inference is that there is a significant and positive relationship between tourism and the creation of new job opportunities in the border areas of Oramanat, tourism and increasing the income of border residents, tourism and the development of indigenous handicrafts of Oramanat border region, and the tourism and reduction of unemployment rate in the Oramanat border region in 99% level of significance.