Typology, Evaluation of the Effects and Consequences of Second Home Tourism of Rural Settlements in the West of Golestan Province

One of the manifestations of rural tourism in recent decades is the phenomenon of "second home tourism". This type of tourism in rural areas, due to the differences and variations in motivations and length of stay, is a function of natural contrasts, spatial distance, the origin of tourists and the social, economic and cultural structures of second home tourists. The present study evaluates the effects and consequences of environmental-physical consequences in rural areas of western Golestan province with the intention of tourism typology of second homes. This research is applied in terms of purpose, and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. The data were collected through a survey method based on questionnaires and interviews. The sample population includes 360 heads of second homeowners, 144 local households and 10 rural managers. The sample villages in the research area have been determined based on the homogeneity of tourism of the second houses and their expansion in mountainous, semi-mountainous and plain areas by "cluster" method. The results of the research from the perspective of the local community indicate the existence of structural differences in the rural environment and the origin and motivations of tourists on the functions and diversity of types of tourism in second homes. The tourism boom of second homes with environmental-physical changes from the perspective of local people and rural managers has a positive relationship and from the perspective of second homeowners has the opposite relationship. The impact of the tourism of the second houses on the environmental-physical dimensions of the villages in the summer-forest mountain type is more than the plain type villages.