Agritourism in the Era of the Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Rapid Assessment from Poland

Monika Małgorzata Wojcieszak-Zbierska,Anna Jęczmyk,Jarosław Uglis,Jan Zawadka

doi:10.3390/agriculture10090397

Monika Małgorzata Wojcieszak-Zbierska, Anna Jęczmyk + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10090397

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had strong impact on the tourism market. As a result of the lockdown and the closing of borders, tourist traffic came to an abrupt halt. Agritourism is an important way of diversifying agriculture and rural areas. In addition, it is a part of the idea of sustainable and multifunctional agriculture. It makes it possible to use production resources in the countryside and constitutes an additional source of income for both farmers and the local community. The aim of the paper was to present the results of survey research concerning the tourist plans of the Polish people in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular plans to spend holidays on agritourism farms. The study confirmed that according to Polish respondents, holidays in the country, spent on agritourism farms, were a good choice in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents expect agritourism providers to take specific actions, i.e., disinfect communal rooms, make hand sanitizers available, as well as limit the maximum number of people allowed on the farm and in open-access rooms, in order to ensure safety during their stay. The article constitutes a contribution to the evolving literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of the tourism sector.

Highlights

Due to the fact that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, is highly infectious and contagious [1], the COVID-19 pandemic has a had a significant impact on public health and global economies
The global economy has never faced a problem comparable to that brought on by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and tourism is the sector that has been most affected by the situation
The authors of the paper attempted to learn about the tourist plans of Poles in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the holiday opportunities at agritourism farms

Summary

Introduction

Due to the fact that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, is highly infectious and contagious [1], the COVID-19 pandemic has a had a significant impact on public health and global economies. The spread of the epidemic has undoubtedly had an impact on many sectors of the economy [3,4,5], the tourism sector has been affected. The introduced blockade due to the pandemic influenced the demand for food, and food security by limiting mobility, reduced purchasing power of the most vulnerable population groups [7]. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), COVID-19 has affected agriculture in terms of demand, and in terms of food supply [8]. To limit the Agriculture 2020, 10, 397; doi:10.3390/agriculture10090397 www.mdpi.com/journal/agriculture

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