Distribution of Spatial Clusters of Tourist Villages and its Relationship with the Formation of Population Centers in Khorasan Razavi Province

Document Type : علمی

Authors

• Mostafa Amirfakhriyan ¹
• Alireza Moeini ²

¹ Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

² Academic Center for Education, Culture& Research

10.22067/jrrp.v6i4.62373

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to show the placement of rural settlements throughout the province of Khorasan Razavi that have religious and nature tourism patterns, and to delineate the differences among them in a time period of 35 years from 1976 to 2011. According to the available statistics, there are 390 villages with a religious tourism pattern and 952 villages have a nature tourism pattern throughout this province.
Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on spatial analysis techniques such as “directional distribution”, “K-function”, and also spatial autocorrelation and Moran’s I.
Findings: The findings of the study showed that the spatial distribution of these villages is clustered and is more observable in villages with a nature tourism pattern. Using the indicator of population and utilizing spatial autocorrelation models, specifically Moran’s I, it became clear that some differences exist in villages’ spatial patterns. In villages with a religious tourism pattern, rural settlements have moved toward population centers, in a way that in these villages spatial clusters can be seen alongside population centers; while in villages with a nature tourism pattern, no such correlation and accompaniment is discernable. In other words, clustered patterns in these villages have not led to the formation of population centers. Considering the relatively similar levels of enjoyment of urban services in the tourist villages of Khorasan Razavi province, it can be stated that the inner cluster relationships among villages with a religious tourism pattern, have reinforced settlements in each cluster, thereby creating a favorable environment for its development. This cannot be seen in villages with a nature tourism pattern.
Research limitations/implications: Collecting, creating and forming a database of the villages in Khorasan Razavi province was a major limitation of the current study.
Practical implications: In the current situation that rural settlements are increasingly losing their status, using such patterns can prove effective in stabilizing the rural population.
Originality/value: The innovation of the study is to depict the creation of population centers around the villages with religious and nature tourism patterns.

Keywords

• Spatial clusters
• population centers
• nature tourism
• religious tourism
• Khorasan Razavi province

---

References

1. Bailey, T. C., & Gatrell, A. C. (1995). Interactive spatial data analysis (Vol. 413). Essex: Longman Scientific & Technical. ‏

2. Beale, C. L., & Johnson, K. M. (1998). The identification of recreational counties in nonmetropolitan areas of the USA. Population research and policy review, 17(1), 37-53. ‏

3. Brouder, P. (2012). Creative outposts: Tourism’s place in rural innovation. Tourism Planning & Development, 9, 383-396.

4. Daghahi, M., Mousavi, A., & Gholami, Y. (1389/2010). An analysis of the development of religious tourism (Case study: Noorabad Mamsani). Journal of Geographic Space, 31, 39-64. [In Persian]

5. Getz, D. (1986). Tourism and population change: Long-term impacts of tourism in the Badenoch and Strathspey District of the Scottish Highlands. The Scottish Geographical Magazine, 102, 113-126.

6. Goebel, P., Reuterb, C., Pibernikc, R., & Sichtman, C. (2012). The influence of ethical culture on supplier selection in the context of sustainable sourcing. International Journal of Production Economics, 140(1), 7-17.

7. Hajinejad, A., Paidar, A., Bagheri, F., Abdi, N. (1394/2015). Projection of the Strategic planning of Iran rural tourism development. Quarterly Journal of the Macro and Strategic Policies, 2(8), 111-135. [In Persian]

8. Hall, M., Müller, D., & Saarinen, J. (2009). Nordic tourism: Issues and cases. Channel View Publications.

9. Hashemi, N. (1389/2010). The role of ecotourism in sustainable rural development.‏ Village and Development, 3(1), 173-188. [In Persian]

10. Holland, J., Burian, M., & Dixey, L. (2003). Tourism in poor rural areas: Diversifying the product and expanding the benefits in rural. Uganda and the Czech Republic. ‏

11. Hwang, J., & Lee, S. (2015). The effect of the rural tourism policy on non-farm income in South Korea. Tourism management, 46, 501-513. ‏

12. Jiang, J. (2008). Evaluation of the potential of ecotourism to contribute to local sustainable development: a case study of Tengtou Village, China: a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, New Zealand.‏ Retrieved 2016, from http://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/703.

13. Kauppila, P., & Rusanen, J. (2009). A grid cell viewpoint to resorts: case studies in northern Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 9(1), 1-21.‏

14. Lane, B. (2009). Rural tourism: An overvie The Sage Handbook of Tourism Studies (ITazim Jamal, Mike Robinson, ed.). Sage Publications Ltd.

15. Lasanta, T., Laguna, M., & Vicente-Serrano, S. M. (2007). Do tourism-based ski resorts contribute to the homogeneous development of the Mediterranean mountains? A case study in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Tourism management, 28(5), 1326-1339. ‏

16. Lozano-Oyola, M. F. (2012). Sustainable tourism indicators as planning tools in cultural destinations. Ecological Indicators, 18, 657-659.

17. Lundmark, L. (2006). ). Mobility, migration and seasonal tourism employment: Evidence from Swedish mountain municipalities. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 6(3), 197-213.

18. Meyer, G. (2004). New Research Network for Islamic Tourism New Research Network for Islamic Tourism. Islamic Tourism, 11. ‏

19. Mohammadi Yegane, B., Cheraghi, M., & Velaei, M. (1392/2013). Role of religious tourism in rural development, with emphasis on quality of life and social capital (Case study: Ghapchagh village, Miandoab county). Journal of Applied Researches in Geographical Sciences, 13(30), 7-25. [In Persian]

20. Mohammadi Yeganeh, B., Rostami, Y. (1388/2009). Rural tourism and its role in sustainable economic development (Case study: Uraman Takht villages). The First National Conference on Sustainable Rural Development, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. [In Persian]

21. Möller, P., & Amcoff, J. (2016). Tourism’s localized population effect in the rural areas of Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 1-17. ‏

22. Niedomysl, T. (2005). Tourism and interregional migration in Sweden: an explorative approach. Population, space and place, 11(3), 187-204. ‏

23. Rahnama, M. R., & Aghajani, H. (1388/2009). Analysis of spatial distribution of public libraries in Mashhad. Library and Information Quarterly, 12(46), 1-19. [In Persian]

24. Rajabi, A. (1386/2007). Investigating and analyzing the environmental tourism potential of the village of Froomad. Town and Country Planning, 1(2), 145-165. [In Persian]

25. Ray, N., Dash, D. K., Sengupta, P. P., & Ghosh, S. (2012). Rural tourism and its impact on socioeconomic condition: Evidence from West Bengal, India. ‏ Dillip Kumar Das, 6, 11-22.

26. Razavi Khorasan Governor. (1392/2013). Razavi Khorasan Province land use studies. Mashhad: Razavi Khorasan Governor. [In Persian]

27. Rezvani, A. A. (1382/2003). Ecotourism and its role in environmental protection. Journal of Environmental Studies, 31(1), 115-122. [In Persian]

28. Salehi Fard, M. (1389/2010). Rural tourism, fundamentals of planning and structural plans. Mashhad: Publication of Marandiz. [In Persian]

29. Sgroi, F., Di Trapani, A., Testa, R., & Salvatore, T. (2014). The rural tourism as development opportunity or farms. The Case of direct sales in sicily. American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 9(3), 407-419.

30. Sharpley, R., & Telfer, D. (2002). Tourism and development concepts and issues. Clevedon: Channel View publications.

31. Soteriades, M. D., Tyrogala, E. D., & Varvaressos, S. I. (2009). Contribution of networking and clustering in rural tourism business. Tourismos: An International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism, 4(4), 35-56.‏

32. Vazquez, D. L. T., Trechera, H., & Morales, F. (2012). Rural tourism as an alternative to the development for rural areas and the creation of employment. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(20), 162-174. ‏

33. Wang, L. E., Cheng, S. K., Zhong, L. S., Mu, S. L., Bijaya, G., Dhruba, C., & Ren, G. Z. (2013). Rural tourism development in China: Principles, models and the future. Journal of mountain science, 10(1), 116-129. ‏

34. Zargham Boroujani, A., & Shalbafian, A. A. (1392/2013). Country Tourism Policy (Comparative Study). Tehran: Mahkame Publications. [In Persian]