Tourism Impact on Livelihood Assets of Tourism Villages (Case Study: Rural Areas of Rudsar, North of Iran)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the trend of villagers’ livelihood asset changes arising from tourism development on livelihood assets of tourism villages of Rudsar county in the north of Iran. Methods: The current research is conducted in 10 selected sample villages by cluster and random sampling. The research method is qualitative with a fundamental theory process based on inductive reasoning. In a snowball and targeted method, interviews were conducted with villagers to collect data. The conceptual framework of the present study is sustainable livelihood, resting on five rural livelihood assets for identifying the tourism development changes. Results: In several village, changes in the five rural livelihood assets and 11 macro-categories have occurred with different intensities. On the other hand, the changes in the plain and hill villages included all five assets, and coastal villages cover only the natural and physical ones. Also, no changes were observed in mountain villages. Conclusion: The results suggest that livelihood asset changes have occurred in the studied villages. Nonetheless, the changes had different functions in villages, and in some, they led to the formation of new performances.