Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research

Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research

The Design of TOWS Strategic Model for Rural and Agricultural Tourism Development of Mazandaran Province

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Fatemeh Razzaghi Borkhani 1
Yaser Mohammadi 2
1 Graduate PhD. Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agricultural Development and Economic, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
10.22059/ijaedr.2018.238272.668464
Abstract
The aim of this study was to design a TOWS strategic model for rural tourism development (Agrotourism, ecotourism) in the Savadkooh and north Savadkooh Counties of Mazandaran Province. This study was a descriptive and analytical survey which through literature review of previous studies and analytical results come from experts and researchers responses in the field of rural tourism, Agrotourism, has prioritized each internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) factors and Provided TOWS strategies. The population of the research was a group of scientific and management experts (=20 experts) with expertise in the field of rural tourism and rural development which selected by purposeful and available sampling technique. The questionnaire was distributed among experts through AHP technique and Saaty's 9-point likert scale. Finally, 16 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. SWOT- AHP technique was used to analyze data and all calculations has been done by Super Decisions software, version 6.2 and Excel software. The results showed that in the criteria evaluation section, strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats were ranked first to fourth priority respectively.  In formulating strategies using TOWS model due to uncontrolled external factors, tried to focus more on internal control factors. The most important strategies of TOWS model for the rural tourism development based on the general priorities and overall weight were as: Maxi-Maxi (SO), Mini - Maxi (WO), Maxi - Mini (ST), and Mini - Mini (WT).
Keywords
SWOT- AHP Analysis
TOWS Strategic Model
Rural Tourism Development
Agrotourism
rural sustainable development
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Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Volume 49, Issue 3
Summer 2018
Pages 509-525