Tourism Planning and Rural Tourism Development (Case Study: Rural of Mahidasht District, Kermanshah)

Nowadays, tourism not only is known as a trip, journey, entertainment, or the like, but also has become an outstanding economic activity recently, so that the total number of tourists has been over 702 million people worldwide in year 2000, whose travels to different places of the world has flown about 621 billion dollars into the world economy cycle. The goal of this study is to reveal the tourist capacities and capabilities of the villages of Mahidasht district in Kermanshah as well as introducing the region to the tourists so as to be able to easily reach the region and enjoy its natural appeals and tourist attractions, which, attracting tourists, could be assumed a major step in the development of the region. Given the geographic location, environmental conditions, and cultural properties of these villages, the district could have the capability of attracting tourists at a regional scale. Exceptional geographic location in the vicinity of a metropolis, exclusive condition as a seamless countryside, and location in the operational space of a metropolis all play important roles in the development of rural tourism in this region.