ABSTRACT
Theeconomicbaseofruralareasusedtobefarming,buttheproblemisthat agriculturenowadaysneedslesslabourthanitusedtoandtheruraleconomyhas becomenowmuchmorediverse(MaheandOrtalo-Magne,1999).Asrural economiesarebeingrestructured,thereislessemphasisontraditionalgoods producingsectorssuchasagriculture,forestry,fishing,andruralmanufacturingas waystoprovideemploymentandgeneratingincome.Thatiswhypart-timefarming isincreasinglypopular,especiallyamongindustrialcountriesandthisbecomesan importantfactortodetermineon-farmpluriactivity(OheandCiani,2000).Within farmingitself,farmerscanincreasinglyberegardedas'ruralentrepreneurs'who produceawholerangeofgoodsinadditiontoagriculturalcommoditiesand providearangevarietyofservices(EuropeanCommission,1997).Theimportance ofsmall-scaleentrepreneurshiphasincreasedinruralareasandsmall-scaletourism isintuitivelyperceivedasasuitableformofeconomicdevelopmentforruraland agriculturalpopulation.Increasinglyruralcommunitiesofdifferentcountriesare seekingtoutiliserecreation,tourism,andtourismrelatedactivitiestodiversifytheir economiesandtoreplacetraditionalagriculturerelatedindustrieswhichhavebeen obsoleteorhaveleftthecommunity.Howeverinmanyruralareasrecreationand tourismhavealreadybecomethemainstaysoftheeconomy(Butler,1998).
