چكيده لاتين
Territorial capability analysis plays a central role in promoting rural tourism development by examining spatial policies and identifying resources, areas, routes, and appropriate strategies. the present study focuses on the territorial capability analysis for the rural tourism development in Khuzestan Province. Methodologically, this research is descriptive and analytical, and in terms of data collection, it was conducted using documentary and survey methods. Initially, to determine the position of rural tourism development within the spatial planning and policy-making system of the Province, 410 subcategories across 12 main categories, derived from regional documents that explain the formation of spatial policies related to rural tourism development, were identified. these were analyzed using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) models and correlation tests. The findings revealed that the categories of economic and agricultural production, cultural and natural capabilities, and territorial structural balance held the highest weights. The ranking of the province’s counties, based on the interaction of spatial policy categories and overall levels of rural tourism development, showed that Dezful, Ahvaz, and andimeshk had the most favorable status, while Hamidiyeh, Aghajari, and Seydun ranked the lowest in this regard. Furthermore, it was found that half of the region is in an unfavorable state in terms of rural tourism development. to pursue the objective of identifying territorial assets and capabilities for rural tourism development, information was collected and analyzed from reliable sources, resulting in the extraction of 281 variables categorized into 14 indicators. The highest share of variables belonged to the natural capabilities indicator, with 48 variables. the next most prominent indicators were agricultural, transportation, educational, and cultural capabilities. Regarding the objective of determining suitable areas and access routes for rural tourism development, two main processes were followed: identifying appropriate areas and identifying suitable routes. in this step, 46 sub-criteria were identified under 10 main criteria, and through the implementation of the analytic hierarchy process and preparation of a final zoning map, it was found that 44% of the province is in a favorable position for rural tourism development. four routes were identified at this stage: nature tourism, historical tourism, agricultural tourism, and religious tourism. to determine optimal strategies for rural tourism development, a SWOT strategic planning method was used, identifying 195 influential factors. These included 36 strengths and 56 weaknesses representing internal factors, and 39 opportunities and 64 threats representing external factors. Since the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) was placed in the third quadrant, with a final score of 2.53 for internal factors and 2.48 for external ones, the final strategies for rural tourism development in the Province fall under “diversification” strategies. By combining strengths and threats, 25 diversification strategies were identified under 8 policy orientations. among these, developing tourism infrastructure, with a score of 4.603, was considered a key strategy to guide rural tourism development in the Province. The fifth objective emphasized formulating a planning model for the tourism development in the Province’s rural areas. By integrating the step-by-step phases of the study, the pattern of “Integrated Territorial Planning of Rural Tourism” was designed. In this pattern, tourism development is regarded not merely as an economic goal, but also as a social, cultural, environmental, and structural process that contributes to improving the quality of rural life, resource conservation, and spatial balance.
