Strategic Analysis of Tourism-Related Rural Businesses During the Corona Epidemic

With the outbreak of Covid-19, tourism-related businesses in rural areas were affected by the restrictions imposed during the outbreak of this disease. The main purpose of this research was to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of tourism-related rural businesses in the Corona epidemic in order to assess the internal and external aspects of tourism-related rural businesses and explain strategies for reducing the risks of Corona.

In the statistical population of the research, 12 experts, managers and key informants of the tourism sector of Mazandaran province were selected by purposeful sampling method. Data analysis was done through face-to-face and telephone semi-structured interviews and note taking through qualitative content analysis technique with an inductive approach and MAXQDA software. In order to determine validity, the triangulation technique including: the use of confirmatory sources, researchers and multiple methods during the process of data collection and analysis was used, Also, in order to ensure the reliability, the accuracy of conducting interviews, creating a structured process for conducting and interpreting interviews and forming a specialized committee have been used.

The research findings were presented in the form of four main themes (concepts) of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and 19 sub-themes (codes). The results of qualitative content analysis showed four strengths, five weaknesses, six opportunities and four threats in rural businesses related to tourism in the face of Corona. According to the research findings, extension of health culture and individual and group health, capacity building and empowerment of local communities, economic problems of income reduction and unemployment of people and the risk of tourism investment, respectively have been stated as the most important strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats. These results provide an opportunity to the managers and those involved in the development of rural tourism to provide the necessary conditions for reducing the risks of Covid-19 in various sectors of rural businesses and agriculture, as well as, the supply chain of agricultural products by removing the obstacles.

According to the research findings in order to management of tourism-related rural businesses, the importance of the tourism supply chain by diversifying tourism-related activities, paying attention to innovative approaches for healthy food tourism with the increasing role of consumer and tourist preferences, the use of new technologies in green tourism, development of electronic tourism services, development and support of knowledge-based and technological companies in the field of agricultural and rural tourism such as medicinal plants and forest tourism, allocation of financial aid and support facilities to create support and unemployment insurance for individual businesses of tourism activists, creating cooperatives and non-governmental and volunteer organizations specializing in local planning, developing community-oriented tourism projects and supporting the most vulnerable people in rural areas, are the most important ways to manage the risks of Corona in tourism-related businesses.