The Importance of RuralTourism in the Context of Sustainable Development and Tourism: Authentic Rural Tourism Project

Abstract

The rapid development and growth of the tourism industry within the world economy provides important opportunities fort hedevelopment of rural areas thatare not socio-economicly developed or do not have sufficient capacity to develop. In the development of rural areas, it will be possible to achieve a sustainable development by evaluating then atural cultural folkloricand social values which are necessary for tourism together with agricultural development as an attraction.In this context, especially for developing countries, rura tourism reveals that it can play an active role in ensuring sustainable rural development.
In this theoretical study, conceptualization of rural tourism in terms of sustainable tourism with conservation and use and conservation understanding has been discussed in macro and micro level. In this context, a sustainable authenticrural tourism project has been developed for the Akbaş Village of Serik District, which has an important unspoiled rural tourism potential of Antalya, and it is aimed to meet the expectations of all stakeholders, especially the local people of Akbaş Village.