Structural Determinants of Attracting Tourists in Rural Areas from Host Society Perspective in Esfidan Village, Bojnourd

Rural tourism can be considered as all resorts and tourism activities in rural areas based on agriculture, livestock, fishing, arts and crafts, local customs, etc. The aim of this study was the investigation of factors affecting tourism in rural areas from the viewpoints of Esfidan residents. The population of study was the households in the village Esfidan (544 households). Sample was estimated from 226 head of household through simple random sampling. The questionnaire was the instrument of data collection that its face validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was assessed by a pilot test (which it’s Cronbach's alpha was 0.79). From the results, structures of the tourism were clustered into four factors: infrastructure, environmental, social and economic. In the end, according to the results of this research, recommendations were presented