The effect of tourism organization of Gilan province on employment dynamics

Master's Thesis

Field of Study: Tourism Management

Introduction

In the circumstances that the 20th century has ended, rural development is still facing many issues and challenges, because the past strategies in the field of rural development were not successful and failed to provide for issues such as poverty, employment, health, food security and environmental sustainability. These strategies are also successful in distributing the benefits of growth and development. and have caused numerous problems for rural areas, this problem has caused that in recent years, rural and urban development has once again received attention and theoreticians, planners and government executives try to reduce the problems and issues that these areas are plagued by with new solutions and methods. One of these strategies, which has recently received attention in most of the countries of the world and has even been implemented in some of these countries and has brought positive results, is the development and expansion of tourism in rural areas, which have the necessary potentials for the development of tourism (Mirzaei, 2018). This industry brings a lot of social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits through the combination and simultaneous use of internal and external resources. In many countries, today tourism is considered the main force of the country's economic improvement and growth, and by providing a strategic opportunity, it has diversified the local economy, created jobs, created income and increased the value of resources entering the local environment.

Therefore, tourism is considered a primary option in development and its important elements are From: local environment and culture along with local consent and consent to accept circulation. The growth of tourism in recent decades has been clearly seen in different regions of the world. The process of globalization has clearly affected the development of this sector and has eliminated the borders as one of the important problems for it.

Population movements and resources are factors involved in this development and prove that tourism has a high capacity to influence and can be the coating of economic and social development in different territories (Miraj, 2016).

There are few economic sub-sectors that have such flexibility and capability. adapt to the environment in which they operate, and this is the reason why tourism is related to strategic situations for local development, but tourism is closely related to other economic factors and different factors work hand in hand so that a country can achieve economic success through tourism.

In the context of employment and investment discourses, tourism can also be an important tool for wealth development. Beyond this, tourism has positive effects in strengthening the indigenous values ??of the region, proving local cultural values, opening local communities to external influences and developing the potential of a territory, which is worthy of attention (Mirzaei, 2008).

With the development of tourism by the Heritage Organization in Gilan province, many benefits have been provided to the people of this province, but despite these many economic benefits, the non-specialization, seasonality and difficulty of the jobs that are assigned to people, the lack of financial ability of people to invest in development The infrastructure and superstructure facilities of this industry in the province are among the factors that diminish the positive economic effects for the people of this province and make them pessimistic.   The most important attractions of Gilan are natural attractions, significant parts of which are still untouched due to the lack of amenities. More than 180,000 people visit Gilan every year, which shows that Gilan is one of Iran's tourism poles. Therefore, according to the investigation of the role and function of rural tourism in creating employment in Gilan province, the question that arises is: Is the rural tourism industry effective on the employment dynamics of the residents according to the employees of the cultural heritage and tourism organization of Gilan province? The problem and main questions of the research

Tourism is an ancient phenomenon that has existed in human societies for a long time and has gradually reached its current technical, economic, social and industrial position during different historical stages (Bahman Kargar, introduction). Today, the tourism industry, especially domestic tourism (including rural tourism).Today, the tourism industry, especially domestic tourism (of which rural tourism is also considered a part) has a special place in the economy of countries and plays an active and effective role in improving the economic, social and cultural structure of developing countries (Raji, 1379, p. 1, in Mahdavi, 1383, p. 2). In the current situation, paying attention to the development and expansion of rural tourism can greatly contribute to the diversification, stability and economic growth of rural communities and solve problems such as the rural unemployment crisis. In other words, rural tourism is a valuable source of job creation and income generation and can be a means to support the environment and rural culture and can play an essential role in the development and preservation of the village (Richard, Julia Sharpley, 1380, p. 8).

Currently, in many rural areas, tourism has turned from a passive state into a dynamic and effective factor in changing and controlling the landscape of rural communities. The nature and importance of these changes have focused increasing attention on the function of tourism and leisure in rural areas (Butler et al, 1998, 3). So that in many developed countries, with the decline of economic activities, the weakening of the flow of industrialization in villages and the migration of young people with higher education, tourism has been adopted as one of the development strategies for economic and social reproduction in rural areas (Briedenhann and Wickens, 2004, 71). In less developed countries, experts believe that tourism is one of the few practical options for rural development, but the governments of developing countries, which are under pressure to restructure and have a strong need for economic growth and employment, usually fall victim to the risks of development without a plan or by necessity, due to neglecting the appropriate cultural conditions and especially the participation of local residents in the decision-making process and the level of their support or the attitude of the residents (Briedenhann and Wickens, 2004, 71). In this way, the success of any tourism project in the direction of planning and sustainable rural development is threatened without the recognition and support of the host community, while the success of this activity depends on rural attractions and services. In addition, it requires hospitality and welcome from the host community. So that the anger, apathy and suspicion of the host population will eventually be transferred to the tourists and will probably lead to the unwillingness of the tourists to visit the places where they feel uncomfortable. Thus, understanding the local response and the factors that influence this way of thinking is essential in achieving the goal of optimal support for the development of rural tourism (Gursoy et al, 2002, 80). The ever-increasing and rapid growth of tourism has led many experts to call the 20th century the century of tourism. Antonio Savignac, the former Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, announced in 1998 ((Tourism will become the number one industry in the world at the end of the 20th century)) (Gee, 1994, 16). Many countries use this dynamic industry as the main factor of income and job creation, this characteristic is especially in developing countries. Development can be seen concretely and even a number of countries consider tourism as a main economic activity and as a result an industry. Therefore, countries should make changes in this field in order to use the tourism industry as much as possible by implementing programs so that they can benefit from this growing industry as the main economic factor. Today, the economy and unemployment are important issues in the economic literature of all countries. Employment is the main source of people's income and the main factor in reducing poverty in the society. The expansion of unemployment is also an important factor in economic growth and An increase in social complications is considered. (Nasirizadeh and Totunchi, 2012, 2011) With the development of tourism by the Heritage Organization in Gilan province, many benefits have been provided to the people of this province, but despite these many economic benefits, the non-specialization, seasonality and difficulty of the jobs that are assigned to the people, the lack of financial ability of people to invest in the development of the infrastructure and superstructure facilities of this industry in the province are among the factors that diminish the positive economic effects for the people of this province and make them pessimistic   The most important attractions of Gilan are natural attractions, significant parts of which are still untouched due to the lack of amenities. More than 180,000 people visit Gilan every year, which shows that Gilan is one of Iran's tourism hubs.