A sideways look at farm tourism in Germany and in Italy

The aim of the present contribution is to investigate farm tourism, using a comparative international approach (Gerrmany and Italy) and, thereby, to introduce important topics of the book. These two countries were chosen because of the complementary nature of their markets for agri-tourism. The image of agritourism in Italy, for example, is characterized by high quality and exclusiveness because it is inseparable from the gastronomic choices in food and wine. The sector also has weaknesses which lead, among other things, to a delayed development in strategic organisational planning. In addition in Germany, farm tourism has, up to now, only caught on with a limited part of the population. In contrast to Italy, its image is, however, somewhat modest. This form of tourism originated in a social tradition which has made agritourism particularly interesting for, above all, families with children. A difference from the Italian market lies in the fact that the German farm holiday has been successful in establishing a well-developed system of quality certification