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The possibilities for development of rural tourism and the means to enhance competitive rural tourism in Lithuania
Date Issued |
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2007 |
Rural tourism is the business with the high growing potentiality. In recent five years the quantity of rural homesteads in Lithuania was grown in six times: from 67 homesteads in 1997 till 398 homesteads in 2005. One of the current driven factor is the demand of rural tourism services. The target task of authors of this research paper is to identify the means of rural tourism development in the frame of amplification of competition and consumer‘s needs concerning services range and quality and sustainability of natural resources. Key words: rural tourism, services, recreation, competitive ability. According the results of interview of owners of rural tourism homesteads, appears the possibility to express the idea, that rural tourism in Lithuania is the business of family. The services of rural tourism are the supplementary activity of family. According the respondents the rural tourism as the current activity is possible to produce only in attractive and propertied recreation areas. This idea was expressed by 63 per cent of respondents. Only 37 per cent of interviewed owners mentioned, that current income source is from rural tourism activity. According the results of investigation the consumers evaluated as satisfactory (5-6 scores) the contemporary quality of rural tourism homesteads and their extended services. The tourists underlined, that the quality of services depended upon the professionalism of staff (37 per cent) and the variety of services (32 per cent). According the qualifying reglaments of the Lithuanian Assocciation of Rural Tourism the special ‘‘1-4 categories of Stork system‘‘ is applied in Lithuania. Recently, the comfortability of rural tourism homesteads is developing, or alternatively, the quantity of 1st category homesteads is diminishing, and quantity of 3-4th category homesteads is increasing. The new type of homesteads are originating for disabled recreation. In 2002 such homesteads were not existed, and 4 per cent of.