Hamdollah Sojasi Ghidari; Hamideh Mahmoodi; Hurieh Havaei
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Introduction
The sense of security in rural areas is associated with many factors, including the presence of foreigners and strangers from outside the village. As rural security is one of the most important factors in expanding tourism in rural areas, sometimes tourism in a village ...
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Extended Abstract
Introduction
The sense of security in rural areas is associated with many factors, including the presence of foreigners and strangers from outside the village. As rural security is one of the most important factors in expanding tourism in rural areas, sometimes tourism in a village plays a significant role in improved sense of security of local people. Therefore, villages as a biological location that includes a dense population of diverse individuals and unique attractions will be able to perform their special functions only if the residents have an acceptable level of sense of security. For this reason, in this study, we tried to measure the sense of security among the villagers living in rural tourism destinations. Neyshabur County attracts many tourists thanks to its geographical and historical situation, as well as proximity to main roads. In addition, as the villages in this county are situated on the slope of the mountains, they are surrounded by numerous springs, waterfalls, and other natural attractions which attract many local and non-local tourists, which can serve as an important source of increased income for the villagers. Nevertheless, one of the important factors in development of tourism in the villages is the satisfaction of the villagers with the presence of tourists and the sense of security of the local people. Therefore, this research analyzes and evaluates the sense of security of local people in tourism villages.
Review of Literature
Security in tourism destinations is one of the main factors of tourism development. Security is one of the fundamental principles in the development of tourism strategy, because the long-term sustainability of tourism industry depends on provision of security, and the disruption of its mechanism makes way for insecurity of that tourism destination. Security and tourism are the parameters of an equation which are directly co-related. Today, security is the most important and fundamental principle in formulating the tourism development strategies. There is a mutual relationship between tourism, stability, development and security. Thus, tourism and security are interdependent and they mutually interact with each other, as they can have a decreasing or increasing effect on each other. Following are some studies on the subject of research: (Heydarnejad et al, 2015: Investigating the role of security feeling in the development of border tourism (case study: Chabahar border town)), (Golshiri Esfahani et al, 2013: Spatial Analysis of Health Tourists Security in the Rural Areas of Iran), (Karami Dehkordi et al, 2013: Identification and Prioritization of Security Obstacles in Rural Tourism Development by using Delphi Technique (Research Area: Chehar-Mahal & Bakhtiary)), (Hezar Jaribi, 2011: Feeling Social Security from the Viewpoint of Tourism Expansion), (Khosravi, 2009: Security is the most important component in attracting tourists), (Choon Chiang, 2000: Strategies for Safety and Security in Tourism: A conceptual framework for the Singapore Hotel Industry), (Ghaderia et al, 2017: Does security matter in tourism demand?), (Prashyanusorn et al, 2010: Surveillance system for sustainable tourism with safety and privacy protection) & (Fan et al, 2013: AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and Computer Analysis Software Used in Tourism Safety).
Method
This study was an applied one conducted in a descriptive-analytical method. Five security dimensions (human life, cultural, social, economic and environmental incentives) have been used to measure the sense of security among the locals in tourism villages. The data were collected using a questionnaire containing questions about security dimensions. In total, 39 items were designed and questioned in 5 dimensions. The statistical sample of this study consists of 10 tourism villages in Fazl and Mazol rural districts of Neyshabur County which in 2016 had a population of 2417 households. Therefore, according to Cochran formula and with a 0.1% error rate for households in sample villages, the sample size was 95, after some modifications it was raised to 117.
Findings and Discussion
The results of the t-test indicate that the local community has a low sense of security. Besides, according to the results of the independent two sample t-test, women feel more secure than men. However, it's worth noting that men feel less secure than women because they are much more in contact with the tourists than women do. According to the results of the factor analysis for the items of ‘dealing with intruders’, ‘the sense of security while leaving the house unguarded during the day’ and ‘the tourists following the ethical standards’ had the highest factor loads. This reveals that villagers in rural tourism destinations believe that the above items have the highest impact on the security of the area. The results of spatial analysis of the differences in the sense of security in sample villages showed that the village of Bojabad with the score of 0.371 and the village of Ghar with the score of 0.291 respectively have demonstrated the highest and lowest levels of the sense of security, as these villages have numerous attractions which attract tourists from different cultures and tastes and usually favor the youth.
Conclusion
In general, the presence of tourists in the rural tourism destinations of the region has led to decreased level of the sense of security among local people. Accordingly, local people feel that crimes have increased in villages due to the presence of tourists. Therefore, as the presence of tourists makes villagers feel less secure, the following suggestions are made to improve tourism security in the region:
- To make promotional programs for development of tourism culture
- To develop and improve security services
- To encourage the family tourism
- To establish NGOs in the region
Hamdollah Sojasi Qeidari; Yaghoub Esfaram
Abstract
Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
Ethnocentrism and ethnic unrest are among the most important features of an ethnocentric system and communities with traditional and ethnic structures. Heterogeneity in clans and their diversity and dispersion always reduce the solidarity of societies at the local ...
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Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
Ethnocentrism and ethnic unrest are among the most important features of an ethnocentric system and communities with traditional and ethnic structures. Heterogeneity in clans and their diversity and dispersion always reduce the solidarity of societies at the local and national levels and lead to tribal and ethnic feuds, and, as a result, social solidarity and participation are minimized. The liveliness of villages is diminished owing to a weakness in solidarity and public participation and this causes difficulties in rural development. Naturally, development must be first made into a necessity to take shape in humans and pave the way for human understanding in various areas. Hence, it seems that there is a profound relationship between tribal and ethnic feuds and underdevelopment which needs to be studied with regard to the changes of globalization, the traditional culture, and the context of the society.
2. Theoretical Framework
Rural development puts an emphasis upon the process of improvement in the quality of life among villagers and different actors and activists including the rural communities involved in this process. In this process, the diversity and dispersion of clans and different ethnicities lead them to claim their shares from the outcomes of development and each clan demands a larger share. In conjunction with the rare factors of production, these factors have caused the ethnicities and clans to be heterogeneous in their needs and requests. Therefore, we observe a divergent and underdeveloped community while this would be followed by social harms such as ethnic and tribal feuds. These feuds will change into rural divisions within a rural community. Rural division is concerned with a community in which there is a high level of group disputes and conflict of interest on the one hand, and a low level of participation, central consensus and social capital on the other hand. The capacities of rural development remain in a potential state due to the existence of disputes. Therefore, rural underdevelopment is a concomitant of the conditions within and outside the rural community. This underdevelopment has been provoked by the existence of traditional structures, poverty, deprivation, unemployment, and low social participation and solidarity.
3. Methodology
The data of this descriptive and analytic article have been collected through the library research method and the statistical analysis of field data (i.e., questionnaire and interview). In this field method, the relationship between the ethnic and tribal feud as the independent variable and rural underdevelopment as the dependent variable was investigated using the SPSS Software. To do this, nine villages with the most cases of feuds were selected as samples by means of a library and descriptive–analytic methodology and 300 sample families were selected for the study so that the developed questionnaires could be completed with regard to the research parameters. To achieve the research objectives, statistical methods such as one-sample t-test, Pearson correlation, Kruskal-Wallis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Turkey method were used.
4. Results and Discussion
The results show that there has been a significant relationship between the two variables of ethnic and tribal feud, and rural underdevelopment. Moreover, the tendency for violence and ethnocentrism was stronger and more prevalent within the rural districts. The studied villages vary in terms of ethnocentrism and the proclivity for feuds and fall into different categories. Rural underdevelopment was at a drastically high level leading to less social participation, solidarity and cohesion. Rural development has encountered numerous problems in the eastern boundary of Bahmaei village district due to diverse ethnicities and tribes, the existence of traditional context and culture and their predominance in the community, and the outbreak of feuds and ethnic tensions.
5. Conclusions and Suggestions
Today, the emphasis on physical capital has been replaced with an emphasis on social capital in the process of development as social capital connects all forms of capital and mediates between them. Without social capital, other forms of capital cannot be used judiciously. The existence of divisions and the pursuit of conflicting interests diminish the growth and development of social capital. Accordingly, for different reasons, ethnic bigotries and the resulting emergence of ethnic and tribal feuds lead to a decrease in social capital at various levels and this destroys the developmental capacities and hinders the traits and potentials of rural development. In this way, ethnic and tribal feuds have led to rural underdevelopment. Therefore, given the research results, it is possible to recommend officials to increase employment in various areas of agriculture, the issuance of credible documents to prevent the imminent disputes, and concentration on religious and cultural teachings in order to curtail ethnic and tribal feuds and rural underdevelopment.
