Recognition and Intent-to-Participate of Rural Migrants on Urban and Rural Exchange Business in Namhae County, South Korea

Background and objective: Rural migrants are an important human resource in urban and rural exchange (URE) business, therefore it is necessary to enhance their awareness and intent-to-participate. This study was to analyze the rural migrants’ recognition and intent-to-participate of URE business and to propose the enhancement of them both. Methods: The questionnaire was designed to analyze the socio-demographic background, motivations, satisfaction with settlement, intent-to-persist, and intent-to-participate of URE business including tourism. The data of 144 respondents was subject to the statistical analysis. Results: The motives of migration were to enjoy leisure life after retirement, increased tiredness of city life, health problems, etc. The satisfaction with settlement was 3.67 at 5-point Likert scale. The intent-to-recommend and intent-to-publicize were 3.40 and 3.46, respectively. The intent-to-participate was 3.45, which was affected by the necessity of URE business and the support of central/local governments, and also showed a significant correlation with the satisfaction with settlement, intent-to-recommend, intent-to-publicize, tourism resources for green tourism or rural tourism, driving a car in Namhae county, and the service and price of meals. They thought the missions that the Namhae county office must focus on were to establish an internal/external public relations systems, establish a support system of central/local governments, and foster/support local leaders. Conclusion: It is necessary to improve the satisfaction with settlement and intent-to-persist, expand exchanges with local people, improve internal/external public relations systems, foster/support leaders, improve transportation in the county, enhance the service and price of meals, and develop/operate URE programs including tourism.