Tourism, poverty reduction and rentier state in Iran: a perspective from rural areas of Turan National Park

ABSTRACT

The current study focused on the impact of policies adopted by rentier states on tourism plans and poverty reduction from the viewpoint of Stakeholders in rural areas of Turan National Park, Iran. A qualitative face-to-face interview were undertaken of 30 respondents through snow-ball sampling technique. Due to the geographical isolation of the area and traditional ways of living, the rural people there suffer from severe poverty. In recent years, the Iranian government has made efforts to reduce poverty through the development of tourism in these areas by means of mandatory plans and government budgets. The results showed that government-supported tourism has been able to reduce poverty to some extent, and it has increased opportunities, job skills and willingness of the poor to participate. However, the centralized administrative structure of Iran is in contrast with the participation and sharing of power to all groups, including the poor. Such a structure, indeed, is keen on implementing its plans in an imperative manner.

KEYWORDS:

• Poverty reduction
• rentier state
• rural areas
• Turan National Park
• Iran

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).