Achieving guest satisfaction through the agritourism experience: the case of Cyprus

Abstract

Tourism is being appreciated for its plentiful positive (e.g.) economic impacts upon worldwide destinations. Even so, its uncontrolled development has caused a number of negative (e.g.) sociocultural effects which have led to the concept of tourism sustainability to be in the spotlight. Rural tourism was sought by global destinations as a sustainable form of tourism which could revive rural communities. One such destination which sought tourism diversification while acknowledging the potential benefits of rural tourism is the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Being concerned with uncontrolled tourism development especially in the coastal areas, the official bodies of the island implemented the agritourism program. Through its promotion the destination sought tourism diversification and economic regeneration of the countryside. However, the success of the program may be argued, on the basis that it has only achieved low occupancy rates. In view of this, researchers note that the success of any tourism sector requires guest satisfaction achievement. Yet it appears evident that there is a lack of an investigation of agritourist satisfaction, while the answer to the question ‘how can agritourist satisfaction be achieved’ still remains elusive. In fact it seems that the agritourist satisfaction process has escaped the attention of global tourism researchers and demands further exploration