The role of origin products and networking on agritourism performance: The case of Tuscany

Abstract

Recently agritourism has been strongly argued as a tool for rural development and investigating determinants that boost its performance is of paramount importance for policy design. This study examined the impact on agritourism performance of origin products (i.e. products whose specific quality is essentially attributable to geographical origin) and of participation in networks.Quantitative data from a sample of 292 agritourism farms in Tuscany, Italy, together with qualitative information gathered from personal interviews, are considered. To analyse quantitative data, the structural equation modeling methodology is implemented.The core contribution of this study is an empirical examination of the interplay effects of origin products, networking and agritourism performance. The expected positive effects of origin products on agritourism performance are significantly supported by our analysis. Results highlight that those agritourism farms that participates in networks will experience a positive performance. Networking mediates the relationship between origin products and performance. Research and policy implications from these findings are discussed.