Feature: Agritourism booms in Italy for countryside leisure

A growing number of tourists in Italy are now spending their holidays not in crowded cities but in the countryside, which boasts long history of farming as well as natural beauty.

There are currently more than 20,000 farm stays in Italy. Over 55 percent offer stay, 20.5 percent offer both stay and catering, 6.4 percent only catering and 17.5 percent a variety of recreational farm activities.

Sources from the Italian agriculture ministry told Xinhua that agritourism enterprises have continued to boom even in times of economic crisis, with the sector growing more than 70 percent between 2003 and 2013.

The Italian government has supported the sector with incentives for those who opt for such business activities, and recently also with the creation of a website entirely dedicate to agritourism, which was officially launched during the nutrition-themed world exposition in Milan.

The website, rendered into nine languages including Chinese and Russian, shows the list of authorized agritourism enterprises in Italy, with a presentation of their surrounding areas for those tourists who want to explore the different choices available.

The sources explained that based on a national law enacted in 2006, agritourism enterprises need to be based on agriculture. This means that the agricultural businesses must carry greater weight than the other activities, as a guarantee of genuine products for tourists.

The 2006 law states basic requirements, delegating single regions to further regulate the matter. Those farms that want to start a tourist activity are asked to give a commencement notice to their municipality.

"Many people in Italy, especially women and youngsters, are making this choice," said Silvia Bosco, National Secretary of Terranostra, the agritourism sector of Coldiretti, the largest agricultural professional organization in Europe which counts around 1.8 million members.

Bosco told Xinhua that several of the 4,000 farm stays which are part of Terranostra are led by entrepreneurs who have decided to give up their jobs to start a new adventure in agritourism. Some of them used to work in totally different sectors, such as engineering and finance, before deciding to change their life.

The agritourism scene, she said, has come on apace since 1960 as a result of Italy's farming tradition and typical sense of warmth. This kind of stays, Bosco added, combines good food with the pleasure of being outdoors and a price-quality ratio.

The agritourism enterprises, which usually are quite small and managed by the owners themselves with the help of family members, propose recreational programs that can include horticulture, cookery and cheese making courses, visits to archaeological or natural history itineraries or even - among the latest trends - "agri-nursery-schools" for those parents who like to involve their small babies in the leisure, Bosco went on saying.

There are also cases, especially in the central regions of Italy, of entire villages that have been turned into multi-functional farm stays. In this way, the transformation of the countryside into a resort to rediscover the local resources and traditions is also a means for the Mediterranean country to preserve and revalue many uninhabited areas, Bosco told Xinhua.

"In fact Italy was the first country to give birth to agritourism as what it is today," said Cosimo Melacca, President of Agriturist, the first agritourism association created in 1965 by Confagricoltura - an influential organization that represents Italian agricultural enterprises.

"Our first president Simone Velluti Zati founded Agriturist after studying the new economic trends related to agriculture in his frequent trips to France. His innovative intuition contributed to a new development of agriculture in Italy," Melacca explained to Xinhua.

Today there are several associations and groups promoting agritourism in Italy, he said. The web is a very useful channel for information exchange and advertising campaigns, but word of mouth based on tourists' experience still is the most effective way to promote the best venues and habits, he added.

Melacca, who himself is the owner of a holiday farm in northern Italy, told Xinhua that he traveled to Beijing two years ago to take part in a forum on agritourism. "China has an enormous potential and all the means for the development of agritourism over its immense territory," he said.

However, in his view it will still take time to assimilate the culture of agritourism in a country whose rapid economic development is pushing many people to seek the excitement of city life, both in China and abroad.

"Most of the foreign tourists coming to my holiday farm are from Germany or the United States. I only met a few Chinese, and I found that they were often in need of their own culinary and cultural habits," Melacca noted. "But I am sure that an increasing number of people in China are appreciating the peace of a holiday far away from the frenetic life in the city. Agritourism will boom in China," he said. Endit