Investigating adolescents’ perceptions regarding rural tourism, an alternative form of touristic reinforcement for the greek countryside

Abstract

In this field research, we investigate the views and life attitudes that children between 13 and 16 years of age adopt towards rural tourism and the main characteristics of the vacation model they ideally prefer and/or choose to pursue. This study further aims to constitute an educational guide for an innovative environmental programme of actions in order to sensitize even students with no active environmental spirit. The present applied sampling research involved the completion of a brief questionnaire by 413 sample students from Greek secondary education schools (day high schools and lyceums) of the Attica, Ilia, Arkadia and Evros prefectures. The reliability of the questionnaire as a research tool was reinforced by the fact that all respondents were asked to answer the same questions. The analysis of variance method was used to identify the differences. It has become clear that the majority of secondary education students are fond of nature and they support the sustainable management of the environment; yet, there is a significant percentage of adolescents who are not familiar with rural tourism as an alternative model of tourism. The results generate an added value to rural tourism education and eco-feminist theories.