Mid Sweden University

Tourism, as one of the key drivers of the economy, adds significant revenue to the economy of many countries, especially in developing countries. It acts as a tool in standardizing living, promoting culture, peace and helping in the conservation of the environment and poverty reduction. Among plenty types of tourism, such as Cultural tourism, Eco tourism, Adventure tourism, Medical tourism, Culinary tourism, Wildlife tourism, etc., Community-Based Tourism (CBT) is a tourism management model that prioritizes local communities by placing them in the center of tourism activities and involving them in all the steps of tourism development plans, aiming to keep the circulation of tourism benefits within the local community based on an equal distribution under a sustainable framework while respecting environmental issues. CBT attempts to empower local people by upgrading the quality of their lives and their livelihood. This thesis aims to investigate to what extent CBT is functioning properly in Pasargadae and what attitudes local people carry in terms of tourism impacts on their village. The method of the research was qualitative, and the results found some shortages that tourism and the infrastructures in Pasargadae currently undergo, however, locals showed a positive vision and strong support of tourism especially if they are economically beneficial from tourism.