Abstract
Agritourism offers farmers the possibility of diversifying and generating additional income through on-farm touristic activities in order to help supplementing their low agricultural income. This helps to maintain the viability of active farms and rural communities. The more general understanding of agritourism states that agritourism activities support and promote agricultural resources, traditions and culture. Following this line of thought, agritourism results to be a successful example of sustainable tourism that has gained importance over the years.
This special issues focuses on Agritourism which is carried out on a functioning working-farm. The agricultural activities are predominant over the touristic ones and take place in a predominantly unaltered agricultural environment. Agritourism is characterized by human interaction which means a familiar and/or direct contact between the hosting household and its members and the guest. However, regulations and definitions of what this authentic agritourism is and how it distinguishes itself from other forms of rural tourism are yet missing. An incomplete, misleading picture or a general misunderstanding of what is regarded as agritourism makes it difficult to assure a goal-oriented promotion, or to implement a strategic marketing and to conduct research in a coherent way.
A clear definition of the concept of Agritourism, its characteristics, types and varieties shall be compared to other forms of rural tourism. Thanks to an international comparison of the variety of Agritourism-offers on farms and good practices shall help to understand what we can learn from others and what the future of rural areas looks like. Can agritourism contribute to the prevention of rural migration and does it secure on-farm livelihood? What is the regional, economic impact of agritourism and what are the economic multiplier effects?
Topics:
* Agritourism
* Farm tourism
* Rural tourism
* Countryside tourism
* Rural Policies
* Authenticity
* Agriculture
* Tourism typologies
* On-farm diversification
* On-farm touristic activities