Press release – 17th January 2011

Is it true that because of the crisis people don’t go on holiday anymore? Is really tourism one of the most affected industries? It seems it isn’t so, at least for what concerns Italian agritourism.

As a matter of fact, a survey of November 2010 by Agriturismi.it, shows that the number of arrivals of Italian and international tourists is stable, or even growing. German and French people still choose Italy as their favourite destination for their holidays, but there is a surprising new entry: this fascinating country is charming even Israelis, who are among the most demanding tourists.

So, tourists are still the same, what is changing is the way of having holidays: long stays have been replaced by weekends out of town, where the must is to dip oneself into the nature, savour tasty food and do new activities…completely different from city life ones! Who would ever imagine to prepare a mouth-watering homemade cheese after a long working day? Or to walk the dog in the city centre to search for tasty truffles? In country houses there is the opportunity to do all this and much more: nature trekking (there is also who offers donkey trekkig activity), rafting, speleology, jeep, mountain bike or sidecar excursions, in addition to all the activities related to agricolture…Agritourism is the best way of getting away from daily routine!

The souvenir changes too: generally are tourists themselves who produce and pack products with the help of the country house owner and take them home as a memory of the holiday. Nevertheless, the survey shows that these are not the only souvenirs that visitors put in their bags…but to be honest, how can one leave without a set of traditional light bulbs from the region Piemonte?? The owners of a farm house in the province of Alessandria lived this experience: they were about to tidy up the room that had been left when they realized they couldn’t turn on the light because the guests took with them all the light bulbs of the room!

We really have to say that with this form of tourism one never gets bored! To sum up, different, exclusive and amazing experiences, ucontaminated nature, animals, local products, relaxation, open-air activities, friends, family and traditions: agritourism is all this and much more…just have to try it!

To download the survey www.agriturismi.it/survey

For copy the source shall be mentioned: www.agriturismi.it