analysis of tourism indicators in the sustainable rural development of semi-arid regions in iran

Purpose: sustainable rural development in arid regions depends on various approaches, with tourism being one of the most important. tourism can also have multiple effects as an economic activity that helps diversify the rural economy. this research investigates tourism development indicators and their role in the sustainable rural development of semi-arid regions in abadeh city, iran.methods: the research method is descriptive-analytical and relies on data collection through surveys. the statistical population consists of rural residents. based on the research’s limitations and the cochran formula, the sample size was determined to be 372 individuals. experts confirmed the validity of the questionnaire, and its reliability was verified by administering 30 questionnaires and calculating a cronbach’s alpha coefficient greater than 0.70.results: the results showed that the economic and environmental indicators of sustainable rural development were significantly less than 0.05. economic indicators, with an average of 3.088, are considered average, while environmental indicators, with an average of 2.967, are evaluated as weak. additionally, social indicators, with a significant level of 0.152 and an average of 121.3, have been rated as average. the results also indicated that the tourism indicators are substantial at a level of less than 0.05, with an average of 3.199, placing them in an average range. the best situation in tourism indicators relates to the hospitality indicator of villagers, with an average of 3.879. the impact of tourism indicators on sustainable rural development is 90%, and investment in the rural tourism sector has the most significant effect, with an explanatory value of 0.81.conclusion: the conclusion showed that the status of sustainable development indicators in rural areas could be improved. however, tourism as an approach in semi-arid rural areas, while not currently favorable, can positively impact their stability and development.