Evolution of rural tourism. Evidence from Italy

Since the 1960s, rural tourism has been identified as a potential pushing factor especially in some Italian regions. Agritourism was born in order to sustain farming through the promotion of a form of countryside tourism. Nowadays, agritourism helps in re-qualifying rural areas in order to be productive in tourism and hospitality industries, as a complementary income to agriculture. This paper aims at identifying the main factors, which help in the success or failure of companies dedicated to rural tourism. Many aspects may affect the context of rural tourism: a change in policies in favour of agritourism; the social and cultural context; the family enterprise model; the creation of a complex tourist product (integration with agriculture, agricultural products, restaurant, education, etc.) and the communication with potential tourists. This paper aims at investigating the main factors which influence tourism hospitality in rural areas. The first subject is the definition of agritourism in the Italian context. Secondly, the typical tourist of agritourism is analyzed. Thirdly, the policies in the Italian context and the evolution of agritourism, through the use of statistics are analyzed. Finally, some conclusions are drawn.