By Afshin Majlesi
TEHRAN – In recent years, many potential travelers are looking for something different such as spending a day in tranquil countryside, picking fresh fruits, watching rice grow, fishing by the seaside, eating traditional dishes, or even staying with locals.
Urban residents choose rural tourism to experience a different lifestyle that resembles something like ‘the Internet + countryside’.
In the past, the majority of holidaymakers may choose to roam more through travel agencies, but as tourists mature, more and more sorts of travel are welcomed. Therefore, many are no longer satisfied with traditional travel routes and are in search of off-the-beaten routes.
Having numerous pristine yet diverse natural gifts, Iran has many to offer to nature lovers. In recent years, this trend has been the focus of tourism development and is supported by the government and private investors in every corner of the country, which has significantly encouraged the rural economy.
In addition to farmers, the key suppliers of rural activities include initiatives that attract investment. Therefore, the tourism products and activities provided by rural tourism are naturally rich and colorful, covering all kinds of gardens and green fields, water entertainment, farmhouse entertainment, folk customs, traditional culture, etc.
Moreover, the Iranian countryside areas have traditionally been a place of production, dominated by farming, but changes in farming practices, mechanization, and the influences of globalization have deeply affected the fabric of rural communities, which have increasingly shifted from being production spaces to consumption spaces, in which tourism plays an important role.
This way, the prosperity of rural tourism and its breakdown due to overtourism are the two ends of the seesaw. So, tourism resources with local characteristics should be gradually protected, explored, and developed to preserve tourist villages with their own characteristics.
The World Tourism Organization sees rural tourism as a type of activity in which the visitor’s experience is related to a wide range of products generally linked to nature-based activities, agriculture, rural lifestyle, culture, angling, and sightseeing. Such tourism also possesses characteristics such as low population density, a landscape dominated by agriculture and forestry, as well as traditional social structure and lifestyle.
Needless to say that the growth of the local economy is the ultimate goal of the rise and development of the rural tourism industry, but in the long run, to enable the long-term development of the rural tourism industry, the healthy maintenance and growth of environmental capacity is very important.
Consequently, rural tourism is not a magic solution to the problems faced by many rural areas, but it opens up opportunities for economic progress, social and cultural development, and enhancing people’s friendship and togetherness.
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