Examining the Place of Homestays in Global Village Indicators

An expert in tourism product development said that homestays and ecolodges, with the necessary training, can play a major role in sustainable rural development, and that the direct and indirect roles of homestays can be among the criteria for selecting global villages.

Mena Jafari, referring to the role of ecotourism and ecolodge and ecocamps in rural environments, told Aria Heritage reporter: Creating direct and indirect employment for local communities, including women, village youth, such as accommodation management, cooking, local guides and transportation, which has increased the income of rural households, reduced dependence on traditional activities such as agriculture, especially in low water areas, and also business prosperity through the sale of handicrafts and local products in villages.

Regarding its role and social and cultural effects, he stated: reducing the migration of rural people to cities by creating job opportunities, increasing the activity and participation of women and youth in economic-social axes, strengthening the interaction of the local community are among these works, but tourists and also ecotours can help to preserve and introduce customs, traditional architecture, national food, music, traditional clothes and village handicrafts by reviving traditional customs. They also increase the motivation for the villagers to maintain and develop their living environment.

Referring to the environmental role of ecotourism residences in villages, the tourism product development expert said: ecotours and ecolodges protect natural resources and rural landscapes by following the principles of sustainable tourism, and also preserve nature by managing waste, reducing energy consumption, and using local materials.

This tourism activist added: Three important roles have been mentioned; It is one of the indicators for the selection of global tourism villages in the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), which plays an important role in the selection of global tourism villages.

In the end, Jafari stressed that, with the necessary training, ecotourism and ecotourism can be put on the right path to protect natural, cultural and environmental resources and play an important role in the sustainable development of the village, and said: if the development of ecotourism is done without planning and without considering the environmental capacities of the village, it will have destructive environmental, social and economic consequences.