Reassessment of sustainable rural tourism strategies after COVID-19

Fatma Kürüm Varolgüneş; Faysal Çelik; María de la Cruz Del Río-Rama; José Álvarez-García

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.944412

Reassessment of sustainable rural tourism strategies after COVID-19

Front Psychol. 2022 Jul 29:13:944412. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.944412. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Fatma Kürüm Varolgüneş¹, Faysal Çelik², María de la Cruz Del Río-Rama³, José Álvarez-García⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Architecture, Bingöl University, Bingöl, Turkey.
² Department of Urban Studies, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
³ Departmentof Business Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business Sciences and Tourism, University of Vigo, Ourense, Spain.
⁴ Departamento de Economía Financiera y Contabilidad, Instituto Universitario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Territorial Sostenible (INTERRA), Universidad de Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain.

Abstract

This study aimed to develop indicators that measure rural tourism destinations in a sustainable framework during the COVID-19 process. In order to achieve this goal, the A'WOT and TOWS hybrid method was used in the study. In line with this goal, the priority order was calculated by determining the factors for strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities. Once these factors have been identified, strategies have been developed to build on strengths and eliminate weaknesses, while taking advantage of the opportunities and countering threats. In the study, Gökçeada-Turkey, which has recently come to the fore with its rural tourism potential, has been considered as a destination area, and strategies have been developed that adopt sustainable and responsible tourism approaches and increase the roles and capabilities of local communities. The results obtained in the study are expected to be meaningful for other rural destinations that are similar to Gökçeada.

Keywords: A’WOT; COVID-19 pandemic; Gökçeada/Turkey; TOWS; analytic hierarchy process (AHP); decision-making; sustainable rural tourism.