Rural Second Homes and Their Impacts on Rural Development: A Case Study in East Iran

Previously, rural tourism has developed due to population growth, urbanization, development of transportation, and communication routes. In this context, rural second homes (RSHs) are considered as one of the main instruments of permanent and temporary residency tourism. This study intended to evaluate the impacts that "rural second homes" have on rural development in the Khorashad village in the South Khorasan province of Iran. Data were collected through a questionnaire. Using a random sampling method, 146 permanent rural residents were selected. Results showed that in the view of the respondents, the most important positive and negative impacts of RSHs were, respectively, the physical-environment and socio-cultural aspects of the area. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between job type, gender, and purchase/construction year of the RSHs and people's perceptions toward the impacts of RSHs. The study concluded that the most important strategies to reduce negative impacts and increase positive impacts of the RSHs are to, respectively, improve public policies and design geographical distribution patterns in order to develop RSHs.