Different Forms of Accommodation in Agritourism: The Role of Decoupled Farmer-Based Accommodation in the Ötztal Valley (Austria)

Abstract

The general decline of mountain farming all over Europe suggests encouraging farmers to adapt their farm management and to diversify their activities into tourism. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the impact of different types of farmer-based provision of accommodation on the preservation of the farm and the identification of farmers with farming activities. For our investigation in the case study area of Ötztal valley, Tyrol, Austria, we applied a mixed method approach. First, we developed a heuristic concept for categorizing the types of farms that offer farmer-based accommodation. The term ‘farmer-based’ refers to entities who are active in accommodation services and farming. We collected quantitative data in an online survey and carried out a qualitative focus group. Results reveal the importance of farmer-based accommodation even if decoupled from farm activities within the case study area. This type also supports, next to the ‘authentic’ form of farm-based tourism, the existing agricultural structure and contributes to the positive impact of mountain farming such as for the maintenance of multifunctional cultural landscapes, the provision of ecosystem services, and the viability of rural communities. Therefore, we suggest considering decoupled forms of farmer-based accommodation as agritourism.

Traps and Opportunities of Czech Small-Scale Beef Cattle Farming

“…Despite the fact the sustainable farm strategies represent the key factor for the sustainability of the whole agri-food value chain [1] and small farmers constitute the majority of the farming sector in the European Union (EU) and are considered the cornerstone of the EU agriculture [2,3], the market position of the small-scale farmers is very weak [4]. The sustainable economic strategies and risk mitigation frequently lead to diversification (e.g., agritourism) [5,6], which is subject to the knowledge and skills of the farmer and could affect their social identity.…”

“…Ten-year average from inflation statistics[78], 2 exchange rate 2018[96],3 net costs of agricultural products in 2017[77],4 replies from farmers during the survey and focus groups[4,57],5 [97],6 livestock coefficients are according to the authors of[86].…”

Searching for Success Factors of Agritourism: The Case of Kleve County (Germany)

“…"What is agritourism and what it is not" lacks a holistic definition and remains a debated and not fully resolved academic question (Philip, Hunter, & Blackstock, 2010). Most published studies have discussed the supplier and not the customer side of agritourism (Stotten, Maurer, Herrmann, & Schermer, 2019). Different labels and definitions were summarized by Philip et al (2010).…”

The role of farm diversification and peasant habitus for farm resilience in mountain areas: the case of the Ötztal valley, Austria

“…First, farms provide agritourism services, including accommodation, activities, produce and experiences, to generate additional on-farm income (Anthopoulou and Melissourgos, 2013). In addition to the traditional farm-based accommodation, several farms also run hotels or pensions decoupled from their farms (Stotten et al, 2019). For both approaches, the diversification into accommodation services demands other skills, competencies and endowment (Bartolini et al, 2014).…”