POTENTIALS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF CULINARY OFFER ON TOURIST FARMS IN SLOVENIA

Abstract

Farm tourism is among the most important supplementary activities on farms in Slovenia, but its role within tourism sector is still relatively modest. However, in the last decade we can observe a gradual increase in the number of tourist farms, especially those offering accommodation. The emergence of covid-19 even benefited the popularisation of tourist farms, especially among domestic tourists. Slovenia also gained the status of the European region of gastronomy 2021, but this has not been properly utilised for the promotion and further development of culinary offer on tourist farms in the country, which could build its gastronomic visibility through the best tourist farms as well. The potential of culinary offer on Slovenian tourist farms has not yet been thoroughly researched, although this potential is recognised in several strategic development plans. According to the latest data, the supplementary activities of farm tourism are carried out on 1,215 agricultural holdings. Majority of these agricultural holdings (78.8%) offer accommodation, food and drink, which is particularly important for the development of culinary tourism in Slovenian rural areas. In our nationwide research project, one of the main activities was a survey among the holders of supplementary activities on tourist farms. The survey was conducted from November 2021 to February 2022 on a representative sample of 300 tourist farms from all Slovenian regions. We managed to survey 128 tourist farms in total, and most of them were conducted directly in the field. The rather long and complex questionnaire contained various aspects of the operation and supply, as well as the needs and potentials of tourist farms. We paid special attention to the culinary offer and related services on tourist farms. The surveyed Slovenian farmers undoubtedly see the offer of local food and drinks as the biggest opportunity for further development of farm tourism.