AGRITOURISM ACTIVITY AS AN EXAMPLE OF DIVERSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE

A characteristic feature of human behavior is their poly motivations, which means that the person taking deliberate action is guided by more than one motive. Deciding on the economic activity we are also choosing a number of motives. The paper presents the analysis of farm agritourism activity with particular zoom on the motivations and profitability of the surveyed farms. The study was undertaken to analyze the function of tourism farms with particular emphasis on the motivations and profitability of the surveyed households. Due to the fact that the motives for taking up business in tourism are similar in many countries, a study by the author allowed the separation of the three main motives for taking up agritourist farms surveyed in Western Pomerania Region. An important objective of the study was the relationship between the motives and activities undertaken at the farm source of income, age and education of respondents. Also determined the degree of economic viability as a result of agritourism ctivity undertaken, opportunities and barriers to their development. Data were collected from the original character of the agricultural operators in the rural areas of the West Pomeranian region which was conducted in the first quarter of 2011 and one hundred randomly farms were selected. Method of measurement was the questionnaire method and a questionnaire as a research tool.