Agri-Tourism and Quality of Life of Residents

This Chapter explains and describes the terms ‘agritourism’ and ‘rural tourism’ in an international context while emphasizing the particularities they demonstrate in Poland. It also points out to the fact that rural tourism and agritourism can be either antagonistic or complementary; this entails certain consequences for both the tourists and the residents. Next, it identifies the opportunities for the local community to participate in the development of agritourism and in benefits derived from it, and shows the importance of tourism itself as a phenomenon which affects rural areas, including the residents’ quality of life. Some examples of thematic villages were used to scrutinize social participation of residents. Also, an attempt was made to determine the impact the functioning of these villages has on the quality of life of the local community.