Development possibilities of Local communities through rural tourism

Rural tourism is identified as a tool for rural revitalization. Rural areas are sleeping giants in possibilities of economic development for the local community surrounding these areas due to its potential availability of natural and cultural rural tourist attractions, but these areas are of low focus as place for development. The development of rural tourism of any kind can help to address several problems through: economic growth, economic diversification and stabilization; employment creation, as primary source of income but most importantly secondary source of income; reduced out-migration and possibly re-population; maintenance and improvement of public services; infrastructural improvements; revitalizing crafts, customs and cultural identities; increasing opportunities for social contact and exchange; protection and improvement of both the natural and built environment; increasing recognition of rural priorities and potential by policy-makers and economic planners. An important question is whether more can be done to develop rural tourism within such rural areas, as a way of dispersing the benefits and decreasing poverty impacts.