POSSIBLE RISKS IN AGRITOURISM AND WAYS TO OVERCOME THEM (BASED ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE GURIA REGION)

Abstract

Agritourism activities are sometimes associated with certain risks, protection against which can be seen as one of the important factors contributing to the development of agritourism. The purpose of the article is to analyze the risks in agritourism on the example of Guria, one of the regions of Georgia, and to outline ways to overcome them. The document outlines the risks associated with overcrowding in tourist destinations, climate change, seasonality of tourism, spread of various pests/diseases of agricultural plants and animals, food safety, environmental and air pollution, improper waste management, financial support for agritourism, etc. Their solution often requires both individual and joint coordinated efforts of farmers, local governments and visitors themselves, resulting in the opportunity to offer tourists a variety of safe tourism products in the form of recreation, interesting attractions, and a better understanding of local life, which will make their stay more enjoyable, useful and interesting. The main results of the article are based on the data of our research, which was conducted by direct survey (questionnaire) in one of the regions of Georgia - Guria. The study determined that there are 566 farms in all three municipalities of the Guria region (281 in Ozurgeti municipality, 110 in Chokhatauri municipality, in Lanchkhut municipality - 175), 400 farmers took part in the study, 80 of whom are engaged in agritourism (41 in Ozurgeti municipality, 16 in Chokhataur municipality, 23 in Lanchkhut). The topic analyzes the peculiarities of the existing risk management and offers recommendations on measures to be implemented on the example of the Guria region.