Night sky tourism and its role in the economy of desert areas (Case study of the Mesr desert)

Tourism can serve as a reliable complement to economic planning and conservation efforts in desert regions. The aim of this paper is to investigate the economic impact of night sky tourism in the Mesr desert, a region renowned for its starry night skies.

The questionnaire was the primary data collection tool in this research. Content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, academics, and tourism scholars, and for assessing its reliability, the questionnaire was administered to a sample of rural residents. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient in the study was calculated as 0.78, which is considered acceptable.

The research results indicate that night sky tourism has had a significant impact on the economic sustainability of the study area in four aspects: employment generation, income enhancement, improvement in the quantity and quality of handicrafts and local products, investment, and tourism services. The findings demonstrate a strong positive correlation, particularly for the rural employment index. Therefore, it is evident that the expansion of night sky tourism results in significant differences in economic indices. Owing to the direct and positive nature of this relationship, it is possible to attribute the direct influence of night sky tourism to the growth of these economic indices.

Innovation: 

Regression analysis results reveal that, among the economic indices, employment and income have the most significant impacts, which also contribute to economic sustainability. The results indicate, with 99% confidence, that night sky tourism affects all economic factors in the region, with the highest coefficient observed in the rural employment index (r = 0.403). Additionally, beta weights demonstrate that the employment index has the highest standardized coefficient of 0.465 in the regression model under investigation.