ABSTRACT

Social farming encompasses actions taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the agricultural activity to support therapy, rehabilitation, social integration, lifelong learning and social services in rural areas. Social farming-based tourism, as a unique combination of agritourism and professional social services, is dynamically entering rural areas. Highly urbanised countries are the most experienced in the development of social farming. This points to the correlation between the demand for social farming services and the metropolisation process. Farming activities and animals are particularly important to children relaxing in rural areas in the company of their parents or visiting the countryside as a school activity. Social farming-based tourism can be found among other different trends of specialisation in rural tourism, such as: heritage tourism, qualified tourism, nature tourism, culinary tourism, spa and wellness tourism and adventure tourism. The offer of educational farms includes programme profiles addressed especially to adult participants, including exclusive oenological workshops on wine farms.