Ranking of Rural Settlements Based on the Livelihood Outcomes of Tourism (Case Study: Villages of Shahrabad Rural District, Firuzkuh County)

Noorani, Tara; Armaqan, Simin; Daniali, Tahmineh

doi:10.22072/tmsse.2026.2076295.1085

Ranking of Rural Settlements Based on the Livelihood Outcomes of Tourism (Case Study: Villages of Shahrabad Rural District, Firuzkuh County)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Article extracted From phd Thesis

Authors

Tara Noorani ¹

simin armaqan ²

Tahmineh Daniali ²

¹ Department of Geography, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Geography, Yadegar-e-Imam Khomeini (RAH) Shahre Rey Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22072/tmsse.2026.2076295.1085

Abstract

Rural tourism is recognized as one of the effective approaches for enhancing the sustainable livelihoods of rural communities. The present study aims to examine the livelihood outcomes of rural tourism across four dimensions—economic, social, environmental, and institutional—and to rank the target villages based on these outcomes. The statistical population included 13 inhabited villages in the Shahabad rural district with a total of 1,268 households, among which seven tourism-oriented villages comprising 971 households were selected. The sample size was determined as 214 household heads using the adjusted Cochran formula. The research employed a descriptive–analytical design, and data were collected through documentary and library studies as well as field surveys using a researcher-made questionnaire. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the VIKOR method were applied for data analysis and ranking of the villages. The results revealed that Tares village ranked first among the studied villages in terms of tourism-induced livelihood outcomes. Despite the positive impacts of tourism on household livelihoods, most villages were still in a relatively poor condition in this regard. The findings highlight the need for efficient management and participatory, equitable policymaking to ensure the optimal and sustainable utilization of rural tourism capacities.

Keywords

Sustainable livelihood

Rural tourism

Livelihood outcomes

VIKOR

Firuzkuh

Subjects