The Importance of Rural Tourism: Rural Tourism Practices in the World and in Turkey

Abstract

There have been several changes observed in tourism sector as in many sectors due to the globalization in recent years. With these changes, a trend towards alternative tourism types has begun in line with rapid alteration in tourism demand. New tourism types such as
heritage, trekking, eco tourism, agritourism, cultural tourism and rural tourism come into the picture with the increase in tourism demand. One of the alternative tourism types, rural tourism is applied by regions and countries where rural areas are plentiful, with the aim of
providing rural development with new tourism policies produced in accordance with tourism demand. This study presents rural development applications in the world and in Turkey performed via rural tourism.