ندا دهقانی

Purpose- Rural tourism has various effects on the economic and social aspects of rural households. Considering the significant impact of tourism on the economic and social development of local communities, this research aims to investigate the economic and social effects of rural tourism in Baft County.Design/methodology/approach- The statistical population consists of 2512 households in the rural of Baft Township, out of which 333 households were selected through simple random sampling based on Cochran's; formula. The primary tool for data collection was a questionnaire, the validity of which was examined through content and structural validity, and its reliability was assessed using composite reliability and Cronbach's; alpha (α = 0.90). Data analysis was performed using SPSS and LISREL software. To examine the fit of the measurement model of economic and social effects on rural tourism; the collected data were analyzed using LISREL software and second-order confirmatory factor analysis.Findings- The research findings indicate that the most significant impact is on the economic dimension, including employment and income, investment, and satisfaction. Moreover, the most prominent effects in the social dimension include social participation, protection of intangible heritage, sense of place, heritage and tradition preservation, tourist satisfaction, education and awareness, and ultimately, cultural elevation. The research findings also revealed that the absolute fit indices (AGFI = 0.91, GFI = 0.94), comparative fit indices (NNFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.95), and parsimonious fit indices (RMSEA = 0.054, X2/df = 2.63) confirm the excellent fit of the measurement model of economic and social effects on rural tourism with the observed data. Furthermore, the structural equation modelling results indicate that the most signicant impacts are in the economic dimension of employment and income and the social dimension of social participation.