ASPECTS REGARDING THE RURAL TOURISM IN THE OPINION OF CLUJ COUNTY HOUSEHOLDERS

Abstract

According to the OECD, the rural tourism can be defined as “spending the holiday in the rural space.” [2] “The agri-tourism makes mention to the different forms of tourism found in direct connection with the agricultural activities and/or with the constructions having destinations, roles, functions in the agricultural domain. This form of rural tourism is based on the assurance in the rural household of the housing, meal, services and other of their complementary services.” [1] In order to determine the level of knowledge and the attitude of householders concerning the agritourism and the rural tourism, a study was initiated using the inquest based on a survey, the main instrument being the questionnaire. The questionnaires were administrated in 7 communes (Belis, Buza, Dabâca, Gârbau, Manastireni, Suatu, Unguras) in the Cluj County, in this year, on a sample of 160 householders, using as a sampling method the undifferentiated simple unrepeated method. Each respondent was randomly chosen to represent one household, wether or not they were heads of the family. The results were processed using the SPSS program, version no. 15, as well as the Excel application. The results of the inquest have revealed that 18.8% of the respondents know the term rural tourism and agritourism making the difference between these terms, and being able to explain through simple words these activities. Many respondents have defined the term agritourism as being equal to “the accommodation plus agriculture plus everything that tourist does to relax in the countryside and to get involved in the household activities”, and the term rural tourism as being “a way for people to relax in the countryside”. However, the mostly respondents, that means 51.3%, do not know this term. After giving them the explanations regarding the sense of the terms, people were asked if it would be convenient if a villager or a specialist in this field would be desirable to offer more information about this activity. Amongst the answers, 86.9% have considered such an idea welcomed, 12.5% have said that they would not need an advisor, and 0.6% did not answer. The respondents were asked whether they would be willing to follow specialization courses in the rural tourism and agritourism domain, 80.0% agreed, 18.8% said they do not wish to take part in such courses and 1.3% did not answer to this question. We can declare that the householders in the Cluj County are eager to learn more about this activity and invest all their available resources.