Comparative Study of Tourism in Rural Area: Coredes of Campos de Cima da Serra and Fronteira Oeste, RS, Brazil

Abstract

With major changes that occurred in rural areas, it was necessary to include nonagricultural activities to increase family income. As a parallel activity, tourism has been assisting families in increasing their income and diversifying their activities. Thereafter, we conducted a comparative study of tourism in rural area in Conselhos Regionais de Desenvolvimento (Regional Development Councils) – Coredes of Campos de Cima da Serra and Fronteira Oeste in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The research was divided into two stages: the first, with exploratory quality, where we conducted the survey of the number of working rural properties that received tourists. In the second stage, all properties were visited for application of a questionnaire with openended and closed-ended questions. Data were collected in 20 rural properties within December 2013 and January 2014. The central objective of our study was to compare the potentials of rural properties, aiming to understand their importance and influence on the development of tourism in the rural area, in such a way to make it an effective economic alternative. We concluded that agritourism is the activity that outstands in the Coredes of Campos de Cima da Serra and Fronteira Oeste, since the main economic activity of rural properties is the primary activity, being tourism a complementary profit to the family income.