Classification of Rural Areas Based on the Related Population Concept

The forms of tourism that build deep relationships with communities are rising as more individuals seek the value of experiences. Community-based tourism (CBT) is a process of sharing locality between the community and visitors, which provides for the spontaneous development of the community and a deeper understanding of the region by visitors. As the number of people with lasting connections to rural areas increases, the government has made efforts to attract different types of related populations. On the other hand, policies associated with related populations have been applied uniformly across regions without sufficiently reflecting the conditions of rural areas. Therefore, this study classified rural areas across the country according to the characteristics of the related population and suggested strategies tailored to each region. Hence, indicators were constructed to estimate the related population and rural conditions, and the types were derived through cluster analysis. The rural areas were categorized into five regions. Cluster 1 had a relatively high proportion of industrial base, inflow population, and potential related population, while cluster 2 had a large number of people with a relatively long relationship with the region, but the inflow of external population and living space were somewhat poor. Cluster 3 was characterized by various types of relationships with a specific purpose, such as a strong cultural infrastructure and industrial base. Cluster 4 had the best role in terms of external population and local conditions, and cluster 5 was identified as a traditional rural area with a declining industrial base and resident vitality along with the influx of related populations. These results are expected to contribute to formulating effective related population policies with an approach by region.