The role of agricultural tourism in environmental planning of rural areas (Case study: Rudsar County)

Today, agriculture cannot provide enough employment opportunities and income sources to meet all the needs of rural areas in most developing countries, hence, tourism is a strategy for rural development and reconstruction of villages. In this regard, since the dominant occupation of the rural population in the study area is agriculture, the formation and development of agricultural tourism activities is a must. Through this development, villagers can obtain the proper exploitation and use of human and environmental resources and capabilities, the efficient management of the environment and the correct use of resources.

The purpose of this article is to explain the role of agricultural tourism in the environmental improvement of rural areas of Rudsar County.

The current research is a descriptive-analytical study. The statistical population of three groups included tourists, local managers of villages and experts. 16 villages out of 382 inhabited villages of Rudsar city were selected non-randomly.  The required data were analyzed using a researcher-made questionnaire and randomly distributed among 384 people. According to statistical methods such as SPSS software and TOPSIS model, the environmental quality components were presented in the study area and prioritized in line with the environmental goals of the villages.

Geographical Context: 

The geographical territory of the current research is the rural areas of Rudsar County.

The findings show that the aesthetic component with a score of *C = 0.9637 ranks first, the functional-structural and activity component with a score of 5760 *C = 0.0 ranks second and environmental component is ranked third with a score of *C = 0.4251 among components of development of agricultural tourism. Also, according to the score of sub-components, the villages with agricultural tourism potential were prioritized.

The final results of the research show that the villages with favorable environmental quality have the necessary conditions for the successful implementation of agricultural tourism. Therefore, the area has the necessary capabilities for the development of rural tourism while maintaining the dimensions of environmental sustainability.