A Typology of Hosts in Housing Tourism
189
‘rurbanization’ and, in parallel, the extension of rural holidays. Recently, in France,
there has been a loss of population in urban centres to the benefit of fields located on
the periphery of large and medium-sized cities.
Consequently, the concept of ‘rurality’ has acquired an increasingly territorial
dimension rather than a sectoral one, and can no longer be seen as a phase in the
process of socio-economic development and urbanization but as a symbolic asset for
contemporary societies (Silva, Lima and Chamusca 2010).
Economic diversification and multifunctionality are plans that counter the loss of
competitiveness in traditional rural activities (Fonseca and Ramos 2008). Multifunctionality was assumed for the first time in the Agenda 2000 as one of the objectives
of the CAP. This action program intended to increase the sustainability and competitiveness of European Union agriculture without neglecting the conservation of the
landscape and rural resources. It also aimed to contribute to improving the living
conditions of rural communities, while meeting the demands of the urban population
for safe and quality food, which would favour the protection of the environment and
safeguard animal welfare (Lima 2011).
In the specific case of Portugal, the prevalence of part-time, peasant-based agriculture is one of the characteristics. In this context, agriculture functions as a support for
other sources of income, such as the wages earned through partial work performed
outside the farm (Hespanha 1994). Multi-income, therefore, has a defensive nature,
combining the valences of production with those of social reproduction (Lima 1990;
1991).
In Portugal, there is an increasing complementarity between the ‘central’ or
‘peripheral’ rural areas and the urban world, in a relationship of reciprocity and
interaction. In contrast, the relationship between the cities and the ‘marginal’ or
‘deep’ rural areas, whose conditions of accessibility are painful, is asymmetrical and
materialises itself in the constant loss of population and resources to the benefit of
the urban world (Ferrão 2000; Águas and Antunes 2017).
Since the 1980s, the diversification of economic revenues of Portuguese rural
areas has favoured tourism, which has thus been seen as an alternative to increase
the income of rural communities, adding value to the land and securing workers to
properties (Beni 2003).
In order to offer refined and humanized accommodation and diversify the tourist
offer in the Portuguese province, the “Turismo de Habitação” (i.e. Housing Tourism)
program was launched in 1977 (Pina 1988; Pereiro 2009). Although the real impact
of tourism in rural areas is contested (Silva 2006), this activity has benefited, since
its beginning, from countless support in its different types of accommodation: HT,
Rural Tourism, Rural Hotels, Village Tourism, Country Houses and rural campsites
(Cavaco 1999, 2003).
The Portuguese government authorities have therefore considered tourism to be
a means of economic diversification of rural areas, with the capacity to contribute
to the revitalization of the most economically depressed regions of the country. For
the authorities, this industry is likely to have a virtuous effect due to the fact that it
generates synergies between the various agents and local sectors, the local resources
it manages to energise and the multiplier effects on the economy and employment that
189
‘rurbanization’ and, in parallel, the extension of rural holidays. Recently, in France,
there has been a loss of population in urban centres to the benefit of fields located on
the periphery of large and medium-sized cities.
Consequently, the concept of ‘rurality’ has acquired an increasingly territorial
dimension rather than a sectoral one, and can no longer be seen as a phase in the
process of socio-economic development and urbanization but as a symbolic asset for
contemporary societies (Silva, Lima and Chamusca 2010).
Economic diversification and multifunctionality are plans that counter the loss of
competitiveness in traditional rural activities (Fonseca and Ramos 2008). Multifunctionality was assumed for the first time in the Agenda 2000 as one of the objectives
of the CAP. This action program intended to increase the sustainability and competitiveness of European Union agriculture without neglecting the conservation of the
landscape and rural resources. It also aimed to contribute to improving the living
conditions of rural communities, while meeting the demands of the urban population
for safe and quality food, which would favour the protection of the environment and
safeguard animal welfare (Lima 2011).
In the specific case of Portugal, the prevalence of part-time, peasant-based agriculture is one of the characteristics. In this context, agriculture functions as a support for
other sources of income, such as the wages earned through partial work performed
outside the farm (Hespanha 1994). Multi-income, therefore, has a defensive nature,
combining the valences of production with those of social reproduction (Lima 1990;
1991).
In Portugal, there is an increasing complementarity between the ‘central’ or
‘peripheral’ rural areas and the urban world, in a relationship of reciprocity and
interaction. In contrast, the relationship between the cities and the ‘marginal’ or
‘deep’ rural areas, whose conditions of accessibility are painful, is asymmetrical and
materialises itself in the constant loss of population and resources to the benefit of
the urban world (Ferrão 2000; Águas and Antunes 2017).
Since the 1980s, the diversification of economic revenues of Portuguese rural
areas has favoured tourism, which has thus been seen as an alternative to increase
the income of rural communities, adding value to the land and securing workers to
properties (Beni 2003).
In order to offer refined and humanized accommodation and diversify the tourist
offer in the Portuguese province, the “Turismo de Habitação” (i.e. Housing Tourism)
program was launched in 1977 (Pina 1988; Pereiro 2009). Although the real impact
of tourism in rural areas is contested (Silva 2006), this activity has benefited, since
its beginning, from countless support in its different types of accommodation: HT,
Rural Tourism, Rural Hotels, Village Tourism, Country Houses and rural campsites
(Cavaco 1999, 2003).
The Portuguese government authorities have therefore considered tourism to be
a means of economic diversification of rural areas, with the capacity to contribute
to the revitalization of the most economically depressed regions of the country. For
the authorities, this industry is likely to have a virtuous effect due to the fact that it
generates synergies between the various agents and local sectors, the local resources
it manages to energise and the multiplier effects on the economy and employment that