Market Demand/agroturism

Market Demand/Potential Paper

Workshop#3
University of Phoenix
California

MKT551u1- Marketing Management
June 18, 2002

Rural tourism, also named agrotourism, is a new way of doing tourism, which started during the period of 1988-1989. In the 1960s, the rural homes were in danger of being depopulated. There are rural homes in several countries, however this type of tourism is verypopular in Spain due to the different cultures offered within the country. Although, each location has its own style due to the different cultures, they all have the same purpose.
In the Basque Country, which is located in the north of Spain, the rural houses are called "caserios". In 1989, the Basque Government decided to introduce a program for the owners of rural houses to offer accommodationservices with minimum capacity of 2 rooms and a maximum of 6 and a minimum bed and breakfast service. The Basque Country has three provinces, which have been divided into 18 regions in order to facilitate the job of locating the farmhouses. The accommodation in rural surroundings, where a natural environment with cultural and leisure activities can be combined is very attractive to different kindof people. The Basque Country has its own traditions, language and gastronomy. The landscape is also different from the rest of Spain.
People started looking for a different way to enjoy outdoors and decided to spend some time with people who lived in farms far away from the pollution of the big cities. This was a way to maintain the countryside culture and produce food by farmers. Insteadof going to a hotel in the coast, people started making reservations in a farmhouse. It was a way for them to get to know the culture and traditions of the people that lived in the farms. Nowadays, people share the routine of those that live there. The main purpose of this type of service is to make people feel like at home, with all the comfort as well as to share the daily works and learn adifferent lifestyle. This service can be differentiated from other services in the market due to its unique characteristics.
After conducting secondary research through the internet, I found that this service is very demanding nowadays. People enjoy spending their vacation time in a rural house. The chance to enjoy nature and a new culture is attractive to them. The target market for thisservice is centered among business people, couples, families, the elderly, children etc.
The farmhouses offer family traditions, with history due to their age. After observing and asking people in Spain about the reasons for choosing a rural house to spend their vacation, they gave me several answers. In the Basque country people speak Basque and Spanish. Both languages are usually needed toobtain a job. Unfortunately, not everybody speaks Basque, therefore being aware of the need to learn the Basque language, people decide to go to the farmhouses where they can practice the language with the farmers. They usually are not far from big cities, which makes it accessible and convenient for a lot of them.
The following are some of the activities offered by this type of tourism: hiking,rock climbing, trekking, rafting, horse riding, flora and fauna watching etc. They also offer classes for those who have never been exposed to these activities. People do a lot of outdoor sports in the north of Spain and they like to spend their vacation in a natural environment. These are the individuals whose ages range between 25 and 64. According to data obtained through the internet, the14% of the people are under 24 years old, 71% are 25 to 44 years old, 14% are 45 to 64 years old, 1% is 65 or older. 61% are men and 39% are women. I believe there is a high demand for this type of tourism. Therefore, it is essential to focus on the group ranging from 25 to 44 years old, due to the high percentage of visitors. The rural houses or farmhouses are small buildings, most of them with...