Political and Historical Determinants of the Differentiation of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems of Agritourism in Poland and Kazakhstan

Abstract

(1) Background: In the context of differences among countries developing pre-entrepreneurship ecosystems in relation to agritourism, the need to define the specific challenges and facilitators in the group of post-communist countries is recognised. Given that, we aim to examine the differences between the countries belonging to the former USSR and the satellite countries of the former USSR. (2) Methods: For the realisation of the intended objective, we analysed studies of the literature on the subject, in terms of the theoretical treatment of the entrepreneurial eco-system in the field of agritourism, and current legal acts. Our own observations from stays in the regions in question were also used, along with statistical methods concerning the density of the transport network, comparative analysis of historical and political conditions, and SWOT analysis. (3) Results: Substantial differences were found between the components of the agritourism entrepreneurship ecosystem in Poland and Kazakhstan, primarily related to the level of transport infrastructure density (satisfactory in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, insufficient in North Kazakhstan), tradition of individual farming (well established in Poland, poorly present in Kazakhstan), support for agritourism development by central and local authorities (relatively high in Poland, incidental and with a short history in Kazakhstan), and finally, differences in the target group of agritourism service recipients (stable in Poland, undefined in Kazakhstan). (4) Conclusions: The research leads to the conclusion of the heterogeneity of the determinants of the development of the agritourism entrepreneurship ecosystem in countries collectively defined as post-communist. There are clearly different challenges and facilitations resulting not so much from the past political system as from the ethnic-historical considerations, the position of agriculture in the economy, and the degree and effectiveness of the involvement of administrative authorities in the development of agritourism. The study leads to a recommendation on the need for more efficient targeting of agritourism consumers abroad.

Conditions for Development of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Tourism in the Border Area of the European Union: The Example of the Tri-Border Area of Poland–Belarus–Ukraine

“…Of the various types of activities they undertake and which stimulate the development of the region (e.g., promotional activities, reliefs for investors), the creation of infrastructure that permanently encourages the further development of various forms of activity is of fundamental significance. Apart from the transport infrastructure necessary for many areas of economy, the existence of attractive tourist management in attracting visitors to a given region's tourism is of crucial importance [61].…”

“…The municipality of Wola Uhruska, in which, as of 1995, i.e., the initial period of agritourism's development in Poland [61], several agritourist lodgings have been established, also focused on the development of its agritourism, using the advantages of the Bug River, along which they are primarily located. A smaller development of the accommodation base has occurred in the municipality of Hanna, where there are now three agritourism locations and several providers of rooms for rent.…”

Leveraging Agritourism in Rural Areas in Developing Countries: The Case of Iran

“…Land use needs to be addressed by strict regulations. The author (Wendt et al, 2021) pinpointed the necessity of legal limitations to prevent the land dealing businesses caused by agritourism. Finally, another critical issue is establishing coordination between the proposed economic model and different sectors and organizations.…”

Cultura emprendedora en la República Dominicana: ¿en un alto nivel?

“…Otros países han alcanzado logros significativos en su entorno emprendedor luego de haber invertido innumerables recursos por más de una década. Uno de los tantos y recientes ejemplos corresponde al apoyo del agroturismo en Polonia, país perteneciente a la antigua URSS, que, luego de una inversión continua del Estado, logró en este sector un crecimiento sostenido y significativo (Wendt et al, 2021). Otro ejemplo a mencionar es el del apoyo del gobierno turco en regiones tradicionalmente emprendedoras, donde invirtió mayores recursos per cápita, obteniendo resultados de gran impacto emprendedor (Demirdag & Eraydin, 2021).…”