An exploration of tourist motivation in rural settings: The case of Troodos, Cyprus

Following the decline of traditional agrarian industries, tourism has become one of the most popular rural development strategies adopted by destinations. Rural tourism has been regarded for years as a means of economic and social development in rural areas; particularly, in destinations where tourism has been concentrated in coastal areas, rural tourism development has been considered as a means of diversification of the tourism product. The popularity of tourism as a means of development in rural areas is reflected in academic research; nevertheless, vagueness still exists over what constitutes rural tourism. Whilst several studies have been undertaken investigating the reasons for rural tourism development, little is known about what attracts visitors to rural areas. The aim of this research paper is to enhance understanding of rural tourism by examining rural tourists' motivations. Qualitative research, in the form of unstructured interviews, was performed with both the supply-side and the demand-side sectors of the Cyprus tourism industry to identify the factors that motivate people to visit rural areas. Research findings reveal that different types of rural tourists exist as respondents expressed different levels of interaction with the rural environment and varying interest in rural activities. Also, it was found that people travel to rural areas for various reasons, whereby often the main motivation is not related to the rural setting. Hence, the findings verify the complexity of defining rural tourism and create implications for tourism planners and managers regarding the interaction of destination-specific and personal-specific attributes in attracting tourists to rural settings. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.