Rural tourism and agritourism in Poland – development processes and evolution of terminology

Abstract

The paper describes the evolution of rural tourism and agritourism in Poland and presents the terms which define tourism in rural areas. First, the terms used over three historical periods in Poland are discussed: interwar, socialist and post-socialist. In this part, the long tradition of recreation in the Polish countryside and how it developed differently from West European countries is presented. Following that, the concept of Polish agritourism exogeneity is explained, seen in the way it was introduced and popularised at the time of political and economic transformations. In contrast to the evolutionary process of agritourism development in West European countries, the revolutionary origins of agritourism in Poland were the foundation of a hierarchy of terms defining tourism as connected with the countryside and farming.