Farm Tourism in Slovenia: Mosaic Structure and Future Prospects

Abstract

Over the last decade, diversification in farm tourism has been an important development opportunity for farms in Slovenia, especially smaller ones. Farm tourism is registered as a supplementary activity on the farm. A qualitative analysis (98 households) showed a mosaic structure of the farm tourism business. The results obtained confirmed that farm tourism is a two-way system: some farms are entering and some are leaving the business. Our survey focused on identifying the reasons behind both directions. Financial and economic reasons are most important for farmers starting up farm tourism. The survey indicated several reasons for leaving farm tourism. A more intensive orientation of farm tourism can lead to specialization and high-quality service provision, but there are also indications that it can divert farms away from farm tourism and towards the abandonment of farming. These decisions were correlated with the profile of the farm tourism households (based on demographic and economic criteria and an assessment of future prospects). Keywords: farm tourism, farm income diversification, rural tourism, rural areas, Slovenia