Modeling the state of agritourism in the Malopolska region of Poland

ABSTRACT

The Malopolska region of Poland is highly representative of the current state of agritourism in Poland. The level of agritourism services in this region is very high relative to the national average, the result of environmental and cultural values being incorporated into social and economic development practices. Based on evidence from 1259 agritourism-oriented farms collected from municipal and regional government bureaus, web-published data, and survey data from 575 farm owners in the Malopolska, this paper analyzes the spatial distribution of such farms and the relationship between agritourism and ‘regular’ rural tourism. The Malopolska Voivodeship is strongly diversified in terms of agritourism development. The largest number of agritourism farms is in mountain, piedmont, and upland areas. Research has shown that agritourism is pursued by farmers who own small farms and produce food only for their own use. However, 60% of agritourism farms were found not to engage in any agricultural production. The research also identified basic tendencies of agritourism development in the region. The following basic trends were observed – a shift from agritourism to rural tourism, an increase in the number of agritourist farms offering 10 or more beds, and an expanded service offering – yielding a targeted offering for a specific customer and an increase in the quality of services. This indicates that agritourism owners engaging in this form of business are investing to create more usable space for tourists. The authors’ findings and conclusions also cover the concept of a functional model of agritourism in the Malopolska region. This model shows the relationship between environmental value and the nature of agricultural production and type of tourism in rural areas as well as the diversity of tourist offerings. The model also shows the transition from agriculture and its close relative, agritourism, to regular tourism in rural areas.     

乡村旅游发展与西部城镇化的互动关系初探

西部大开发,旅游业是重点,城镇化建设也是重点。乡村旅游是旅游业的新分支,也是西部旅游开发的重要方面。本文界定了乡村旅游的内涵,并在分析西部乡村旅游资源和西部城镇化进程的基础上,对乡村旅游发展与城镇化的关系进行了研究,认为乡村旅游的开展促进了西部城镇化的进程,而西部城镇化的进程又为发展乡村旅游开拓了空间,二者之间是作用与反作用的互动关系。为了保持性村旅游于西部城镇化良性关系的协调发展,作者提出了促进二者良性互动的建议。     

The local traveler: farming,food, and place in state and provincial tourism guides, 1993–2008

Over the past fifteen years, Americans and Canadians have become increasingly interested in and conscious of the sources of their food. Local food movements such as farmers’ markets and community supported agriculture have expanded dramatically in popularity. This study focuses on a heretofore unexamined aspect of this phenomenon, the widespread rise in use of local food and agriculture in tourism marketing. Nearly absent in 1993 promotions, “eating locally” is now a cornerstone of tourism advertising by states and provinces. This study examines the ways that local food is employed in tourism booklets, and by extension, the desires of the travelers to whom such booklets are targeted.     

国外农业旅游研究综述

通过对相关外文数据库的检索,获得1980年以来国外农业旅游研究方面的文献370余篇,其研究内容主要涉及:农业旅游的兴起、农业旅游的概念和类型、农业旅游的影响、农业旅游的发展条件和障碍、农业旅游的发展策略、农业旅游中的性别问题、农业旅游目的地的生命周期、气候与环境变化对农业旅游开发的影响等。虽然国外在农业旅游研究方面起步较早,研究领域广泛,并已深入到许多微观层面,但仍有一些问题需要继续深入研究,如农业旅游内涵与外延的界定,从多方面多角度对农业旅游类型的划分,全面认识农业旅游的影响等。