The concept of agritourism.

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses the concept of agritourism. Agritourism is a style of holiday that is normally spent on farms. The term agritourism is understood differently by tourists and providers of agritourist services. For a tourist, agritourism means familiarizing oneself with agricultural production or recreation in the agricultural environment or it may include an opportunity to help with farming tasks during the visit. However, this definition does not fully render what the term agritourism means to people providing agritourist services. In fact, agritourism is a term introduced by representatives of the supply party representing the interests of farms providing agritourist services. This resulted in a considerable extension of the term to all activities related to providing services for tourists and holidaymakers. Therefore the entities providing agritourist services include in the term agritourism various forms of the accommodation industry. There are no reasons why agritourism and rural tourism should not be distinguished. There are three main features that differentiate agritourism from conventional tourism. The first feature is the possibility to satisfy human need with practical participation in the process of food production, in the life of a rural family and in a rural community. The second characteristic quality of agritourism in relation to conventional tourism is the possibility to satisfy the human cognitive need within farming production or ethnography. The third feature of agritourism is the possibility to satisfy emotional needs, which is the willingness to have direct contact with domestic animals, plant and animal products and the products of processing, and the need to experience the idyllic countryside associated with the atmosphere of rusticity, silence, sounds or even smells of the country and farm. Commonly three agritourism functions are: socio-psychological; economic; spatial and environmental.