Potential links between rural tourism and agriculture in the Northern Great Plain Region

Szabó, Bernadett – Posta, László

Keywords: rural tourism, agriculture, land ownership, land use, expected revenue

Agriculture has played and still plays a significant role in the life of rural communities and in rural development. But, because agriculture yields low revenues, agricultural workers often need a source of additional income. Agriculture combines excellently with the growing of medicinal herbs, organic farming, handicrafts and tourism. Rural tourism, as originally conceived, is a source of revenue to supplement income from agriculture. In Hungary, however, the ties between these two activities are very weak.
Our current research is focused on assessing the willingness of land owners and agricultural entrepreneurs in the Northern Great Plain region to engage in rural tourism, as well as the willingness of rural hosts to start agricultural activities. Additionally, we seek to assess the potential opportunities for combining agricultural activities and rural tourism in the region by identifying the factors behind the successful operation of profitable enterprises pursuing both lines of business. We also look at the potential economic results from these two activities, and how they might change the revenue levels of the region’s dwellers. We have administered our questionnaire to 122 enterprises so far.

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