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Ecotourism, Agro-Tourism and Rural Tourism in The European Union
Authors: MARIA-IRINA ANA
Number of views: 970
Ecotourism, agro-tourism, rural tourism are forms of tourism that emerged in the last century, becoming
increasingly important sectors of the tourism industry worldwide. The new kinds of life-style, the evolving
tourist behaviour and continuously changing customers’ preferences coupled with the widespread concern about
environment, industrial heritage and sustainable development are all factors that led to the expansion of these
niche market types of tourism. The objectives of this paper are to research important implications and identify
significant trends of ecotourism, agro-tourism and rural tourism in the European Union, focusing on the New
Member States area, as there is a lot of potential for the expansion of these forms of tourism in the region. The
Old Member States earn significant income from agro-tourism, while in the New Member States this is rather an
unexploited opportunity, despite the fact that the cultural heritage and number of unspoilt natural areas is much
more abundant than in the West. This paper will also look at the policies in this field, as the European Union is
very interested and active in supporting agro-tourism and sustainable development, and many policies,
programmes and initiatives address the three types of niche tourism. Key features, economic, environmental and
socio-cultural benefits, as well as current and future challenges for ecotourism, agro-tourism and rural tourism in the entire European Union, but more thoroughly in the New Member States will also be addressed, with the
purpose of creating a comprehensive paper, able to convince the scholars and practitioners in the field to pay
more attention to this rather new topic, as a proactive approach can enable investments and attract more tourists
to the area.