The article addresses the issue of the tourist offer of theme village compliance with the city dwellers expectations. The crucial factors influencing the decision of choosing a rural setting as a tourist destination are both the quality of the cultural landscape and the preservation of the local cultural heritage. However, while creating the thematic villages offering, the aspects of cultural heritage quality and authenticity are mostly overlooked or barely taken into consideration. In this context, questions were raised about the attitude of rural residents and potential tourists towards the local cultural heritage, what expectations of potential tourists towards the rural tourism offer are and whether the rural community is able to adequately respond to these expectations. Moreover, in the course of research it was examined whether the offer and motives of theme villages in the shape proposed by the inhabitants meet the needs of potential tourists. The aim of the study was to evaluate the compatibility between the expectations of the tourists coming mainly from urban environments and the tourist offer of theme villages. As a part of the research, a number of in-depth interviews were conducted with the inhabitants of the villages of the Hrubieszów district, in which the interest in joining the theme villages program was expressed, then the inhabitants of the city were subjected to an in-depth type interview. On the basis of the conducted research, it was discovered that the tourist offer created by rural residents partially meets the tastes and needs of potential tourists. The greatest differences appear in the approach to adaptation and development of traditional rural buildings for tourist purposes. Adaptation of traditional buildings is perceived as attractive by city dwellers, but it causes concern among rural residents. Research shows that city dwellers expect an attractive offer based on the local cultural heritage.
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
