Agrotourism and Agro-Ecotourism in Costa Rica
Fecha
2010
Tipo
artículo original
Autores
Zumbado Morales, Félix
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Resumen
Agrotourism is a form of tourism that encourages visitors to experience rural culture as a
tourist attraction. The term “agro-ecotourism” was used for the first time in Costa Rica in
1994, and it is generally used as synonym of agrotourism. Nonetheless, not all cases of agrotourism
display sufficient concern for the environment to be considered agro-ecotourism. The
aim of the present document is to examine the relationship between tourism and agriculture in
Costa Rica by comparing the current use of the agro-ecotourism label with its theoretical
foundations based on the analysis of 68 projects in Costa Rica. In all these projects, tourism
activities were combined with agriculture. The study found that just a few of the evaluated
projects are following the characteristics presented by the agro-ecoturism definition while
suggesting the need to establish a system of certification to differentiate agro-ecotourism
projects from other kinds of tourism businesses.
Descripción
artículo -- Universidad de Costa Rica, Programa de Investigación en Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible. 2010
Palabras clave
Costa Rica, Ecotourism, Sustainable development, Green economy