Researches into the spanish tourist policy aimed at developing agrotourism

Abstract

In this paper, we aimed at analysing and providing a model for the development of agrotourism in our country. We considered that agrotourism in Spain may represent a model for the sustainable development of agrotourism in Romania, due to the geographic, political and economic context in the two countries. In order to achieve a more profound analysis, we selected three representative autonomous communities, namely Castilla and Leon, Castilla - La Mancha, Cataluña. As a result, we noticed that in Spain the concept of agrotourism was introduced based on the diversified tourist development in a small area, called „rural tourist nucleus”. Also, in other areas, the development of rural tourism was initiated, starting from the agrotourism stage. We identified other situations as well in which global rural development strategies were implemented in order to guide the local, regional and national agents through a diversity of supplementary measures. An essential aspect of the Spanish context which our research focused on is that the legislation related to tourism in Spain is normative and it has a sectoral character, namely it regulates various types of accommodation in the rural environment. The autonomous legislation has a general character, at territorial level, so that 15 Autonomous Communities, except for Madrid and Canary Islands have specific rural tourism regulations. In conclusion, agrotourism in Spain provides a complex model for the development of agrotourism at European Union level. The tourist policies of the Spanish Government and of the autonomous communities, may all be absorbed by the Romanian Government and the local public authorities for the sustainable development of agrotourism in our country.