Resumen de Social Interactions in Rural Tourism: A Host Perspective Case Study

Shang-Pao Yeh, Anestis K. Fotiadis

• This research investigation fills a gap in the literature by examining social interaction in rural tourism management from a host perspective. Furthermore it is aimed at identifying the main factors influencing social interactions in rural tourism in Greece. A structured questionnaire related to social interactions was distributed to 174 hosts in a variety of rural areas throughout Greece. Four factors related to rural tourism social interactions were identified: Local government and community cooperation, Leadership, Coordination and collaboration among tourism entrepreneurs and Cooperation with NGO’s. Results indicated that the “Local government and community cooperation” factor had the highest variance level (27.61) amongst the explanatory factors on a social interactions scale for rural tourism hosts in Greece while “Cooperation with NGO’s factor” had the highest average score (5.68).