ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the current progress and paradoxes in geographies of rural tourism by highlighting the discourses and practices relating to ‘multifunctional rural development’ that have made actors’ social, cultural and moral values central in shaping the profi le of tourism in rural areas. A key feature of multi-functionality is that besides producing food and fi bre, the agriculture sector plays a key role in the provision of public goods such as scenery, biodiversity, cultural heritage and recreational and educational opportunities. This entails a re-examination of the role of productive and consumptive needs in the construction of the ‘new countryside’. Thus one of the current challenges for rural tourism research is to rethink many of the assumptions, models and frameworks outlining rural activation and diversifi cation of business activity that has made the future of rural people increasingly connected with other branches of the economy that are alternative to agriculture. While tourism may bring some form of economic prosperity to a rural region, there is a growing research not just on economic considerations, but also a concern for the social, cultural and environmental facets of a destination when there are increasing visitor numbers (Ilbery et al. , 2007; Shaw and Williams, 2004). It has been proposed that rural tourism can revitalise conventional concepts and views on tourism and bring in a new dimension in sustainable development, thereby making it a key player in alleviating poverty, empowering communities and addressing long-term structural inequalities (Ashley et al. , 2001; Hall, 2004).
