Understanding Rural Tourism and the Tourism Industry

Posted on Apr 28, 2025 in Tourism

What is Rural Tourism?

Rural tourism is considered an important strategy for contributing to population retention and job creation, and for promoting socio-economic development in disadvantaged areas. It is conducted in rural areas, meaning the environment consisting of natural landscapes, mainly agricultural in nature.

An integrated offering consisting of different leisure items such as accommodation, catering, activities, crafts, and local produce.

A motivation based on contact with the environment, where tourists seek nature, traditional architecture, gastronomy, traditions, folk customs, etc.

Interaction with local society, thus requiring communication and participation of the local community.

Characteristics of Rural Tourism

It is typical of tourism activity that takes place in a rural setting, whether in small towns (less than 2,000 inhabitants) or in areas close to cities but far from their center.
This tourism serves as an escape from the hectic and stressful life in the big city, offering a vacation experience.
Provides peace, relaxation, and absolute rest from traffic, noise, and pollution.
This tourism diversifies the economy and regional employment.

Role of Rural Tourism

Profit for small farmers and local enterprises.
Important role in regional development.
New market for agrarian and other regional or local products.
Presentation of region specifics.

Risks of Rural Tourism

Environment protection challenges.
Differences from other kinds of tourism (smaller budget, non-commercial activities).

Rural Tourism Grading System

Services & Facilities
Quality Standards
Symbols (Ear, Stars, Trisquels, Daisies, Crowns…)
National & Regional level

Changes Affecting Rural Communities Since the 1970s

Since the 1970s, economic restructuring and the farm crisis have severely reduced economic opportunities in rural communities. Economic restructuring has caused a loss of rural manufacturing plants and many jobs. The 1980s farm crisis in the Midwest also led to a decline in the numbers of farmers and restructured farm ownership, forcing some farm families to augment their incomes with off-farm jobs, to depart farming, or to declare bankruptcy. The farm crisis and the loss of manufacturing jobs had substantial ripple effects in rural communities. As rural joblessness rates rose above urban levels, real income growth stagnated in rural areas. Many stores and agribusinesses disappeared from small rural towns.

These changes limited rural communities’ economic development options, making older development strategies such as manufacturing less viable and forcing many to look for nontraditional ways to sustain themselves. One of the most popular nontraditional rural development strategies has been tourism and its associated entrepreneurship opportunities. Rural areas have a special appeal to tourists because of the mystique associated with rural areas and their differences.

Advantages of Rural Tourism

Rural tourism is less costly and easier to establish than other forms.
Rural tourism can be developed locally with participation from local government and small businesses, and its development is not necessarily dependent on outside firms or companies.
Rural tourism can be developed with relatively little investment, credit, training, and capital.

Hence, rural tourism can be less costly to develop compared to other economic development strategies; additionally, rural tourism need not involve dependency on outside firms and their decisions on whether they want to be in an area.

Helps two types of small businesses in rural areas:

Attractions and hotels/motels
Gas stations and grocery stores

Disadvantages of Rural Tourism

Despite these benefits and its viability as an economic development strategy, rural tourism does have some disadvantages for rural areas.

Like rural manufacturing, it can pit rural communities in competition against one another.
Tourism industry employment, like many other service sector positions, remains among the lowest paid on the American wage ladder.
Tourism and the jobs associated with it are often seasonal and produce profits for only part of the year.

Impacts of ICT on Tourism

ICTs provide the tools and enable the evolution of tourism demand and supply by facilitating existing needs and business prospects.

eTourism: the digitalization of all processes in the tourism, travel, hospitality, and catering industries.

Why Tourism is Multi-Dimensional

Tourism is multi-dimensional and can be compartmentalized in a number of ways. According to Prosser (1998), there are two major variables: the origin-destination relationship and the motivation for travel. It is possible to create the following categories using Prosser’s origin-destination relationship:

International tourism
Internal tourism
Domestic tourism
National tourism

Prosser indicated that international tourism involves overseas visitors to a destination, while domestic tourism relates to nationals of one country visiting that same country. Internal tourism can relate to a region within a country, while national tourism considers all forms of tourism within one particular nation or country.

Understanding Push and Pull Factors in Tourism

The ‘push’ factors are a number of perceived negative factors about the context in which a potential tourist currently finds himself or herself. The ‘pull’ factors are perceived positive factors of a potential or real destination.

The concept of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors includes ‘escape’ clearly as a ‘push’ factor and ‘prestige’ clearly as a ‘pull’ factor.

The nature of ‘push and pull’ factors will vary according to the particular tourism context. In fact, in any tourism trip, there are likely to be a number of reasons which, when combined, can be considered as the motivational factors; these can be named ‘push and pull’ factors.

Origin of National Tourism Organizations (NTOs)

Tourism originated as a private business, exemplified by Thomas Cook’s Package Holiday. Nations began to recognize the significant income generated from tourism, leading to the birth of National Tourism Organizations. This highlighted the necessity to find ways to manage tourism effectively.

Defining National Tourism Organizations (NTOs)

NTOs are crucial advocates of Travel and Tourism as they manage and plan for its development in a country. National governments have two main choices when delegating the task of managing the country’s tourism sector:

Develop a quango (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization) responsible for the development of tourism.
Set up a government department with a minister head to control the tourism sector.

Functions of National Tourism Organizations

Establishing a tourism policy: policies/priorities for development.
Promote the area as a tourism destination: research, market planning, promotional material.
Ensure that infrastructure is adequate: development of roads, airways, railway systems.
Maintain Tourist Attractions: museums, monuments.
Ensure provision of Tourist Information Centers (TICs): information, offices.
Provide legislation and regulation: Health and safety laws, consumer protection laws.

Understanding Mission and Vision Statements

Mission Statement: Written declaration of the company’s main purpose/objectives. Normally remains unchanged. Public statement on the website.
Mission: More specific. How to get to the objectives.
Vision: Future. Long term.

Key Missions of National Tourism Organizations

Increase employment.
Stimulate investments.
Improve standard of living.
Maximize foreign exchange.
Promote sustainable tourism development.
Preserve natural areas through sustainable tourism.
Protect and preserve cultural heritage.
Develop social impact assessment models.
Maximize social benefits through increased tourism.

Understanding Tour Operators

A tour operator is a business or enterprise that selects various components of tourism, prepares a tour product for a targeted market segment, plans itineraries, and conducts tours and promotions.

Role of Tour Operators

The tour operator is responsible for booking travel to destinations, reserving accommodations, planning the entire tour in terms of what to see and do, and providing ancillary support to the tour.

Categories of Tour Operators

Mass Market Tour Operators: They buy services in volume from suppliers and can afford to sell them to customers inexpensively.

Specialist Tour Operators: They provide service to niche markets interested in a particular geographical area or a special kind of activity.

Depending on the geographical area and tourists they handle, there are the following typical types of tour operators:

Outbound Tour Operators: They provide multinational tourism. They take residents of their own country to visit another country or continent. They sell tour products or packages to customers in their own country who wish to travel to another country.
Inbound Tour Operators: They provide trips within a country for tourists visiting from other countries. They provide local assistance for tourists arriving in their country. They are also known as receptive tour operators. These tour operators make local arrangements for airport pickup and drop-off, arrange visits to local attractions and activities, provide local guides, and are responsible for the tourists’ stay.
Domestic Tour Operators: They provide trips to residents of a country within its boundaries. They are also called resident operators. They have an advantage in knowing the domestic seasons, culture, and food. They can repeat trips, sense the demand of the local market, and suggest destination requirements to the nearest DMOs.
Direct Sell Tour Operators: These tour operators sell tourism packages directly to their customers, bypassing the travel agent. They don’t pay commission to a travel agent; hence, the customer can get a package at a lower price. In addition, direct sell tour operators can also offer a large variety of destinations and packages. It is better to choose these operators if one wants to be very sure about the expectations from a package.

Levels of NTO Work

Regional Level: local tourism departments, private sector associations.
Supra-National Level: UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization).

Planning a Package Holiday: Key Elements

Maps: world maps, state maps, city maps, cycle or walk maps, and road and rail maps.
Event calendars: both printed and digital calendars to schedule and keep track of tour dates, times, and other details.
Brochures: used by tour operators to describe features of tour packages to their customers.
Souvenirs: gifted to customers as a token of remembrance of a place or an event.
Promotion Material: Banners or PVC boards for messages, billboards, brochures, cards, display stands (cloth or plastic) for exhibitions, escalator panels, flyers, Internet presence, interpretive panels (containing orientation maps, picture maps, photographs, or diagrams as well as titles, introductory text, and contact information), leaflets, media advertising material (images, audios, and videos).

Key Management Roles in Tourism

Marketing Managers: Responsible for the promotion of a package holiday using different media: brochures, TV, internet, etc.
Tour Managers: Accompany groups of holidaymakers on tours. Solve unforeseen problems and provide clients with practical support during a tour stay.
Resort Managers: Work in the tourism destination. Oversee the work of a team of holiday reps. Work in daily contact with tourists, organizing local activities and airport transfers. Also negotiate with local hoteliers and other service providers, overseeing contracts and ensuring they are met.

Integration in the Tourism Industry

Chains of distribution are changing, and businesses are starting to expand their area of operation. This process is known as integration.

Horizontal integration: Businesses at the same level in the chain of distribution merge together or are purchased by another.
Vertical integration: A business at one point on the chain of distribution purchases or acquires a business at a higher or lower level of the chain of distribution.

Five Sectors of the Tourism Industry

Accommodation sector: hotels, motels, guest houses, farmhouses, apartments.
Attraction sector: theme parks, museums and galleries, national parks, wildlife parks.
Transport sector: airlines, railways, bus/coach operators, car rental operators.
Travel organizers’ sector: tour operators, tour wholesalers/brokers, retail travel agents, conference organizers, booking agencies.
Destination organization sector: national tourist offices (NTOs), regional/state tourist offices, local tourist offices, tourist associations.

Factors Driving Tourism Growth Over 50 Years

A number of social and economic changes that had been occurring before the second half of the century continued and accelerated after the Second World War.

Salaries and wages steadily increased, and this meant more disposable income to spend on leisure time pursuits.
The amount of leisure time also went up as the working week decreased in terms of hours required at work, and annual holiday increased.
This greater access to recreation activities was accompanied by a rapid rise in car ownership.
Road and motorway systems in Europe and North America were greatly improved during this period (1950s & 1960s).
Potential tourists could plan their own trips without extensive organization.
Then, aircraft also became more comfortable and sophisticated, and an increasing number and range of passengers were flying.
During this period, public transport, in particular trains and coaches, improved in terms of comfort and comparative costs, hence allowing a wider range of users.

The relationship between demand and supply in tourism was based largely on the dynamics of people’s PERCEPTION, EXPECTATIONS, ATTITUDES, and VALUES.

Tourism had become very much a fashion industry, in which there were very close links between tourism demand and the concepts of status image.