Rural tourism: the content, features and types

Despite the active development of rural tourism in Ukraine, this phenomenon is still under scientific study nowadays, which has been manifested by the uncertainty of the key terms; by the lack of clear boundaries, which can separate this type of tourism from other types of tourism activities; by debates about the essence and types of rural tourism. After analyzing the available information the author offers own generalized definition of rural tourism. Rural tourism is a specific entertaining and educational type of tourism, which is based on the tourists’ stay within rural estates, for the purpose of studying the life of peasants, acquaintance with traditional crafts, culture and customs of the rural population, knowledge of the natural, historical and cultural sites in and around rural settlements. Spatially this type of tourism is limited to the territory of rural settlements, their surroundings, adjacent areas and lands which are used or were used in agricultural production in the recent past. Rural tourism includes various types of tourist-recreational activities – relaxational and cognitive, nature-oriented and those using historical-cultural and industrial resources of the countryside. Rural tourism is a multifaceted phenomenon which can be viewed from different angles: as a specific type of tourist-recreational activities that takes place in rural areas; as a form of private entrepreneurship in rural areas which can become a source of significant financial income of peasant families and local budgets under certain conditions; as a way of maintaining sustainable development of rural areas through effective, balanced use of natural, historical-cultural and human resources, the preservation and promotion of ethnic-cultural identity of the peasantry, protection and perception of the environment.