Developing Sustainable Agrotourism in Central and East European Countries

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries and is being accelerated by globalization. The fast spread of information communication technology, excellent infrastructure, changes in patterns of spending free time and the need to get away from the stress of the city are all factors that affect the emerging agrotourism industry. Today’s tourists are willing to pay for the preservation of the natural and social environments they seek to explore. Agrotourism is a soft er way to develop sustainable tourism in rural areas and also acts as farm tourism; agrotourism is seen as a kind of rural tourism related to agriculture. Visitors become acquainted with the cultural landscape, local products, traditional cuisine and the daily life of the people, as well as the cultural elements and the authentic features of the area, while showing respect for the environment and for tradition. Agrotourism mobilizes the productive, cultural and developmental forces of an area, contributing to the sustainable environmental, economic and social development of the rural zone. The objectives pursued in this paper are to research important implications and trends of sustainable agrotourism development in central and east European (CEE) countries. Tourism as a quickly growing industry allowed many developing countries to integrate culture, landscape, agriculture products, and heritage as a part of their strategy in attracting tourists to these countries. We need to understand that as much as tourism needs globalization to grow as an industry, it is due to tourism that globalization became such an important aspect of interaction across places and countries. The main challenge that agrotourism faces is to sustain the growth of rural economies while ensuring the long-term protection of the social and natural environment.