A Research on the Role of Municipalities in Tourism Development of Rural Areas: The Case of Turkey

The local community in the process of association sees the municipalities as leader, strategist, mentor, coordinator, sponsor, and the closest stakeholder institutions to themselves. However, municipalities do not engage enough in organizations that have tourism purposes. Hence, the main purpose of the research is to determine the main reasons for the lack of municipalities’ interest in tourism. To that end, the interview method was used in the collection of data in this research as a qualitative study. Between the regions that are in priority for tourism development, research sample has formed by 11 county municipalities in the province of Tokat, Turkey. Research findings are limited to the opinions of mayors. The results have shown that the studies of rural county authorities towards the development of tourism are formed due to the individual, short-term, and quick income expectations as well as political concerns for the future. Municipalities want tourism development just for their own areas and stay away from cooperation and partnerships for the creation of a regional tourism destination. Local community stakeholders are slightly included in tourism activities. Inadequacies of financial resources have been shown as a main obstructive reason in participation in tourism activities