Agritourist services and products.

Abstract

This chapter discusses the services, products, imponderables and agritourist attractions. 'Imponderables' means unmeasurable values, which in particular refer to agritourist space, such as the beauty of the landscape, fresh air or rural architecture. Imponderables, though not a service or product, definitely facilitate the marketing process in agritourism. Agritourism also satisfies human, emotional, aesthetic and social needs, especially the longing for rural serenity, fresh air and landscape undisturbed by architecture. Also agritourism satisfies the human's emotional need for contact with animals. There are nine categories of agritourist products and services: agri-accommodation, agri-food and beverages, primary agritourism, direct sales, agri-recreation, agri-sport, agritainment, agri-therapy and cultural tourism. Within each specific activity category, products and services are distinguished. The following categories of agri-hotel services can be distinguished: farm stay; cottage stay; agri-hotel (motel); self-service beds; agri-camping; special agri-hotel services. Agri-food services are an integral part of agritourism. Four forms of agri-food services can be found: home meals eaten by tourists together with the farmer's family; picnic meals eaten in the fields; canteens, i.e. separate places for tourists, who eat meals without the farmer's family but according to the menu and timetable imposed by the farmer; restaurants run by farmers or food-processing enterprises, which provide meals not only for holidaymakers staying in a specific farm but also for outside guests. Primary agritourism comprises the categories of tourist products and services that are directly related to the production process on a farm. The products and services of primary agritourism include: observation of the production of crops and livestock; observation of food and beverage processing; participation in the production of crops, animals, foods and beverages; educational tours; farm zoo, safari, direct contact with domestic animals or nature on the farm. Due to the fast development of modern wholesale and retail networks, whose goal is to sell mass products to as large a number of consumers as possible, there is a danger that local products manufactured in small amounts will disappear completely, because there will be no effective markets for them. Agritourism provides a market opportunity for such commodities through following forms of direct sales: direct sales of farm products; "pick your own" sales; stands with agricultural produce; farm or enterprise shops. Within agri-sport, the following categories can be distinguished: walks and hikes; horse riding; sports requiring a large space; new-generation area games; hunting; fishing. Some entertainment can be classified as the so-called agritainment. The use of the term agritainment is justified by the fact that such entertainment is only available on farms or in rural areas or possibly in green areas in cities. Three categories may be included in the agritainment group, namely: visiting parks and gardens; agritourist excursions and outings; maize and soya mazes. Currently agritourism offers at least four products and services of agri-therapy, namely: animal-assisted therapy; therapy applying plant and animal specifics: aromatherapy; apitherapy; specific diets; mini-health resorts. The ethnographic products and services offered by the rural community include: historic farms-old farms; historic villages; museums of folk art and agriculture; folk family celebrations and festivals; staying in a village characterized by specific folk character (dialect, art, attire, buildings, etc.). In conclusion, the wide array of products, services and imponderables indicates that agritourism can offer a wide variety of services to clients.

Agritourism in Montenegro: Empirical research in the function of strategic development

“…In addition to the basic division of agritourism accommodation units, various forms of accommodation units have been identified in the literature, such as agro hotels, agrocamping, agro-huts, rural hotels, etc. (Orlić & Brščić, 2012;Sznajder et al, 2009). On the other hand, if we look at the length of stay of tourists, i.e.…”

“…Namely, agritourism includes a combination of agricultural and tourist activities, where tourists observe or participate in traditional agricultural activities, without negative impacts on the ecosystem or on the productivity of rural households (Rural Tourism Handbook, 2020). Agritourism refers to tourism products and services that are directly correlated with agricultural products and stays in rural households, which include recreational activities, as well as the creation of homemade products and their resale (Sznajder et al, 2009). Numerous studies (Cánoves et al, 2004;Darău et al, 2010;Sharpley, 2002;Sznajder et al, 2009), analyzing different forms of tourism, consider agritourism as a part of rural tourism, among other forms (ecotourism, cultural tourism, adventure, hunting, etc.)…”

“…Agritourism refers to tourism products and services that are directly correlated with agricultural products and stays in rural households, which include recreational activities, as well as the creation of homemade products and their resale (Sznajder et al, 2009). Numerous studies (Cánoves et al, 2004;Darău et al, 2010;Sharpley, 2002;Sznajder et al, 2009), analyzing different forms of tourism, consider agritourism as a part of rural tourism, among other forms (ecotourism, cultural tourism, adventure, hunting, etc.) whose activities take place in rural areas.…”