Tourism is increasingly being used as a tool to stimulate regional development in rural areas. Small tourism enterprises (STE) lie at the heart of the industry and form a major part of the tourism sector. Characterised by flexible organisational structures and small size, STE are well positioned to respond to a growing demand for unique personalised visitor experiences. Information and communications technologies (ICT) enhance access to information, improve the efficiency of business activities and promote networking between businesses, community and travellers at the local, regional and international level.Western Southland is a predominantly rural region in the far south of New Zealand. Promoting the development of a cohesive tourism industry in the Western Southland region will benefit individual operators, their communities and the region as a whole. Using the case of Western Southland, this study explores the profile and characteristics of STE; their perceptions of the value of networking and collaboration, and their attitudes towards and use of ICT. Also considered are the implications of STE attitudes and behaviour in relation to the New Zealand Tourism Strategy and the New Zealand Digital Strategy goals in shaping regional development. A variety of business and community stakeholders are part of the broader case study contributing a rich understanding of the dynamics of the region. A mixed method approach is used to collect data through a series of semi-structured interviews and a survey. Key findings show that limited planned networking is occurring and there is a need to increase STE awareness of the benefits of collaborative activities in order to promote active engagement with other STE. Existing networks are found to be largely informal and embedded in the social and cultural context of communities. The level of ICT use by STE varies, and considerable support is required to encourage operators to upskill. National development goals promote ideals of sustainable communities and businesses, and are aligned with what operators envisage for their region.

Object of research – benefits of inbound tourism and their impact to the state economy. Subject of research – inbound tourism development analysis and estimation. Purpose of research – analyze concepts and definitions of inbound tourism and it’s impact to the state economy as well as for see development perspectives. Research tasks – describe tourism definitions and evaluate rural tourism in it; analyze impact of the inbound tourism on the national economy by defining it’s influence on economical growth and regional development, employment rate and net export; appraise rural tourism development possibilities and trends in odder to gain from inbound tourism advantages. At the end , will be provided the conclusions about the importance of inbound tourism and the impact it makes on national economy and recommendations, which can help to improve the quality or tourism product as well as rural tourism services in order to gain form inbound tourism benefits. Research methods – analysis of scientific literature, logical thought, representation pf graphic data, oral questioning, comparison of information methods.

Research object – rural tourism farmsteads and rural tourism consumers in Ignalina district. Research aim - to do analysis of the rural tourism marketing and to formulate marketing decisions for the rural tourism development in Ignalina district. Objectives are: - to analyze marketing concepts and the posibility to use them in the rural tourism; - to study elements of the marketing concept for the benefit of rural tourism; - to prepare the methods of the research; - to do the research of the rural tourism marketing in Ignalina district; - to formulate marketing decisions for rural tourism development. There were used statistical, graphic and logical analysis methods in the work.

Tourism is increasingly being used as a tool to stimulate regional development in rural areas. Small tourism enterprises (STE) lie at the heart of the industry and form a major part of the tourism sector. Characterised by flexible organisational structures and small size, STE are well positioned to respond to a growing demand for unique personalised visitor experiences. Information and communications technologies (ICT) enhance access to information, improve the efficiency of business activities and promote networking between businesses, community and travellers at the local, regional and international level.Western Southland is a predominantly rural region in the far south of New Zealand. Promoting the development of a cohesive tourism industry in the Western Southland region will benefit individual operators, their communities and the region as a whole. Using the case of Western Southland, this study explores the profile and characteristics of STE; their perceptions of the value of networking and collaboration, and their attitudes towards and use of ICT. Also considered are the implications of STE attitudes and behaviour in relation to the New Zealand Tourism Strategy and the New Zealand Digital Strategy goals in shaping regional development. A variety of business and community stakeholders are part of the broader case study contributing a rich understanding of the dynamics of the region. A mixed method approach is used to collect data through a series of semi-structured interviews and a survey. Key findings show that limited planned networking is occurring and there is a need to increase STE awareness of the benefits of collaborative activities in order to promote active engagement with other STE. Existing networks are found to be largely informal and embedded in the social and cultural context of communities. The level of ICT use by STE varies, and considerable support is required to encourage operators to upskill. National development goals promote ideals of sustainable communities and businesses, and are aligned with what operators envisage for their region.

Thesis (MA (Geography and Environmental Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / This study combines qualitative and quantitative techniques in an inquiry into the influence of rural tourism on the development and structure of Sutherland from 2001 till 2005. Sutherland, like most small rural towns in the Central and Western Karoo, is/was in the process of decline. Rural tourism is seen as a solution to curb the process of decline. The study investigates this assumption by analyzing the positive and negative impacts of tourism on the economic, social and environmental spheres of Sutherland and looks at concomitant structural changes. Special emphasis is placed on the changing nature of Sutherland’s reason for existence and the dualistic processes of degradation on the one side and tourism development on the other. These complex time-spatial and site-specific trends are analyzed and recommendations are made for the management of the tourism industry of Sutherland.

The main aim of the thesis "Use of founded resources for infrastructure development of tourism in selected area" is to analyse market area, micro and macro environemnt of an accomodation capacity in Terčino údolí in Novohradské hory, to develop a business plan and find an appropriate financial aid.

The main objective of master thesis was to compare the potential of tourism in two rural communities in the Klatovy region. The theoretical part explains the concepts of literature related to rural tourism and tourism outlined in the Pilsen district. The practical part was to compare the objective data of selected municipalities and survey focused on the views of the population on tourism and business in their village. Based on empirical field research were identified attitudes and opinions of individual categories of respondents and established recommendations for the decision-making system.

The primary aim of the thesis "Rural Tourism in South Bohemian Region" was the evaluation of the rural tourism offer in South Bohemian Region and the submission of appropriate suggestions. The secondary aim was to describe South Bohemian Region, to analyse actual documents relating to the tourism in the region and to create and evaluate SWOT analysis of tourism in the region.

The main objective of the master thesis was to compare municipalities within the Telč region from the perspective of rural tourism. The comparison was based on historical, sociodemographic and geographic description and analysis of their potential for tourism, including analysis of opinions of selected subjects towards tourism and its development. In the theoretical part, basic concepts of tourism or rural tourism were characterized, based on the review of pertinent professional literature. In the next section, the Telč region was characterized in terms of particular tourism-related factors, i.e. localization, selective and implementation factors. The characteristic consisted in comparing the objective data of the municipalities studied. Evaluation of tourism potential of the Telč region was based on evaluation of the factors and on the survey that addressed representatives of the municipalities with the aim to acquire their opinions on tourism and all components of tourism infrastructure.

O turismo rural pedagógico caracteriza-se como um conjunto de atividades educativas realizadas no âmbito da propriedade rural que utiliza como recurso didático as atividades agrícolas e pecuárias, bem como os recursos naturais ali existentes. Trata-se de uma nova alternativa socioeconômica que, sob o viés da multifuncionalidade da agricultura, pode favorecer tanto os agricultores rurais, na medida em que gera rendas complementares e a valorização de seus conhecimentos e saberes práticos, quanto os alunos, no sentido de possibilitar um aprendizado diferenciado e experiências diversas em contato com diferentes elementos da natureza. A pesquisa, portanto, teve como principal objetivo descrever e analisar as atividades que caracterizam o turismo rural pedagógico, tendo como enfoque a sua adequação enquanto prática educativa a ser desenvolvida em complemento ao ensino escolar. O estudo contemplou duas experiências desenvolvidas no sul do Brasil: o Roteiro Caminhos Rurais de Porto Alegre (RS) e o projeto de turismo pedagógico ‘Viva Ciranda’, de Joinville (SC). Utilizou-se a pesquisa bibliográfica, observação das atividades propostas e entrevistas semiestruturadas, realizadas com 11 proprietários rurais, donos dos empreendimentos que oferecem atividades educativas, e 22 professores, responsáveis pelas turmas de alunos que visitaram estas propriedades entre os meses de setembro a novembro de 2011. Os resultados evidenciam que as atividades desenvolvidas em tais empreendimentos, apesar de apresentarem suas especificidades (estrutura física, recursos utilizados, estratégias, finalidades), contemplam características semelhantes: são vivências que possibilitam aos alunos o contato direto com o meio rural, favorecendo a compreensão de questões relacionadas aos recursos hídricos, origem dos alimentos, flora, fauna e modos de produção sustentáveis. Tais aspectos podem ser trabalhados nas diferentes áreas do conhecimento, numa perspectiva interdisciplinar, sendo para isso, imprescindível o papel do professor. O turismo rural pedagógico, nessa perspectiva, contribui para o desenvolvimento rural, desempenhando uma importante função educativa. / Pedagogical rural tourism is characterized as a set of educational activities carried out within the farm as a teaching resource that uses the agricultural and cattle breeding activities, as well as the natural resources found there. This is a new socioeconomic alternative, that under the multifunctional agriculture, can promote both rural producers as it generate additional income, appreciation of their knowledge and practical skills, it allows the students a different kind of learning and experiences that happen in direct contact with different elements of nature. This research, however, had its main purpose describing and analyzing activities that distinguish pedagogical rural tourism, focusing on it as an educative practice developed in regular school. Two experiments carried out in southern Brazil are analyzed: Caminhos Rurais de Porto Alegre (RS) and educational tourism project Viva Ciranda in Joinville (SC). We have used bibliographic research, analysis of proposed activities and semistructured interviews accomplished with 11 rural owners who offer educational activities in their properties and 22 teachers, responsible for the class of students that visited these properties among September and November 2011. The results of this research show that are developed activities on these enterprises, in spite of showing their particularization (physical structure, resources, strategies and intention), regard similar features like: these experiences allow students to have direct contact with rural environment, helping the comprehension on issues as water resources, food origin, flora, fauna and sustainable production. These aspects can be used in different knowledge areas, inside interdisciplinary perspectives, with the indispensable presence of a teacher. The pedagogic rural tourism in this approach helps the rural development and plays an important role in education.