Explaining the Social – Cultural Role of Tourism in Rural Development (Case Study: Southwest Rurals of Guilan)

Social and cultural effects of tourism are the procedures that tourism creates changes in value systems, people’s behavior families’ connections, genre of group life, traditional customs, and social; systems in that. Tourists communicate with Local inhabitants during their residence destinations and the result of their mutual communications cuase changes in society of hosts’ quality of life, value systems, division of labor, familie’s relations, attitudes, behavior Patterns, customs and usages. These changes become obvious if there are a lot of cultural – social discrepancies between tourists and local residents. Today’s cultural social planning in local areas as a part of local permanent development process is very important.

The aim of the current research is to determine the socio-cultural role of tourism in the development of the southwestern villages of Gilan.

Ready research has fulfilled in terms of descriptive – analytic. Essential data collection has fulfilled by two ways of reading documents and fieldwork. In the part of  Reading documents, ground role of theory and history of reading are the topic of research study and on this base, the number of effective tourism social – cultural index on local development has chosen. Because of extent of study realm and much more number of families, random sampling was used. In first phase, the number of sample rural families were calculated in terms of caukran. Sampling and then 378 sample questioner were devoted on the base of families’ proportional distribution on the area. Emamzade Ebrahim, Ghale´e Roudkhan, shanbe Bazar, Makolvan, Emamzade Eshagh, seyed Abad, Nasir Mahale, Chomach Gurab, Doroud khan, Markhal, Abaskouh, Roudpish, Jirde, Siamazgi, Lask, Node, Koumsar, Lolaman, Gasht, Siahroud, and Kord Mahale are sample villages in ready research study.

Studied Areas: 

The southwestern villages of Gilan province constitute the study area of ​​this research.

With regards to data derivation from questionar, for evaluation and statement of cultural – social role of tourism in rural development, indexes were used like: helping to increas of citizens’ fixation toward, village, to persuade to more use of Modern instrument for homes, rising life style, to improve public social services, increasing career chances, freedom feeling for rural women, to develop, changing and renovation of local culture to develop and improvement of career chances between rural men and women, to develop sanitary services, improvement of social relations and deduction of social equality, prevention of rural imeg ration process, encouragement and preparation of reciprocal imegaation, preparation of new conviniences and services,  revivaland, reinforcement of fixation of inmate to local customers, habitudes, architecture, handicrafts and dressing. Descriptive findings show that there is a relationship between tourism and cultural changes in Local area of southwest Guilan.

The southwestern region of Gilan has provided the development of villages by taking advantage of the capabilities and potentials of natural, historical-archaeological, religious and economic tourism. These changes that result from the development of tourism have laid the foundation for rural development with a socio-cultural approach in the southwestern district of Guilan.