THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF AGRITOURISM ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Egileak

  • Chara Kottara Hellenic Open University, Member of the Adjunct Teaching Staff, Patra, Greece
  • Apostolos Zaridis Hellenic Open University, Public Administration and Agripreneurship Program, Patra, Greece
  • Maria Lagou Department of Accounting and Finance, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejefr.v10i7.2329

Gako-hitzak:

agritourism, rural development, developing countries, economic impact, farm diversification, sustainable development

Laburpena

Agritourism is increasingly gaining traction, fostering a dynamic linkage between agriculture, tourism, localized systems, and rural entrepreneurship. Particularly in developing economies, where rural communities frequently contend with income volatility, deficient infrastructure, youth out-migration, and constrained market access, agritourism is recognized as a vital mechanism for complementary development. It achieves this by diversifying agricultural revenue, generating substantial employment and reinforcing local identity. This study delivers a systematic literature review examining the economic impacts of agritourism and its role in broader rural development, focusing explicitly on developing nations and emerging rural destinations. Synthesizing research from prominent databases, including Scopus and Google Scholar, this review spans the 2012–2025 period and employs a structured coding protocol to classify existing literature by region and methodology. The findings demonstrate that agritourism drives income diversification, employment generation, and entrepreneurship within both agricultural holdings and small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Additionally, it facilitates the direct marketing of agriproducts and enhances the retention of tourism expenditure within local economies. However, the realization of these multiplier benefits hinges on the robustness of agriculture-tourism linkages, localized sourcing, infrastructure quality, community engagement, and institutional governance capacity. Conversely, prominent barriers were identified, including seasonality, workforce skill deficits, a paucity of digital visibility, restricted access to public and private financing, fragmented policy coordination, and the inequitable distribution of socio-economic benefits. To address these gaps, this research contributes a policy-oriented framework alongside a forward-looking research agenda that advocates for rigorous impact assessments, longitudinal analyses, and cross-regional comparative studies.

Egileen biografiak

  • Chara Kottara, Hellenic Open University, Member of the Adjunct Teaching Staff, Patra, Greece

    Dr. Chara Kottara is Economist – Accountant A’ Class. She is Member of the Adjunct Teaching Staff on Hellenic Open University, Greece. She holds PhD in Social Sciences with a specialization in Economics, Management and Accounting. She has a Pedagogical qualification and specialization in Special Education. She holds certification from the National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications and Professional Guidance. Her main research interests include Accounting and Finance, Technology, University Pedagogy, E-learning, Blended Learning, Sustainable Development, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is the author and co-author of 13 books and more than 60 scientific publications.

  • Apostolos Zaridis, Hellenic Open University, Public Administration and Agripreneurship Program, Patra, Greece

    Dr. Zaridis Apostolos is an Agronomist–Agricultural Economist and Management Scientist with extensive teaching, research, and professional experience in the fields of agrifood and agripreneurship. He holds two postgraduate degrees and a PhD in Agripreneurship and is a member of the Adjunct Faculty (SEP) at the Hellenic Open University. He has also held academic positions at the University of Patras and the University of Ioannina. He is the Scientific Coordinator of the “Agripreneurship, Agricultural Innovation and Business Administration” Program at the Hellenic Open University, contributing actively to education, research, and the promotion of innovation in the agricultural and agrifood sectors in Greece.

  • Maria Lagou, Department of Accounting and Finance, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

    Dr. Lagou Maria is a graduate of the Department of Economic and Regional Development at Panteion University and holds an MBA specializing in Accounting and Auditing from the University of the Aegean. She earned her PhD from the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of West Attica, where her research focused on employee motivation and leadership within the tourism sector. She possesses over a decade of extensive professional experience. Her primary research interests include employee motivation, leadership, regional economic development and tourism management.

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2026-10-19

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Libk. 10 Zk. 7 (2026)

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