Permaculture and Downshifting-Sources of Sustainable Tourism Development in Rural Areas

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to find if the stakeholders involved in rural tourism (primary producers of ecological goods, tourism service providers, and tourists, as carriers of demand for tangible products and ecological services) are concerned with integrating principles and values of sustainable tourism through permaculture and downshifting, and how these two phenomena might become sources for sustainable development in rural areas. To achieve this purpose, qualitative research was conducted among tourism producers, intermediaries, and tourists from the Brașov region–one of the most important touristic areas of Romania and, also, an important region with rural tourism destinations. The results revealed that there is a particular preoccupation regarding permaculture and downshifting, and they might contribute to the local development of rural tourism areas. The novelty elements brought by this research are synthesized in a matrix where permaculture and downshifting were presented as important sources for the sustainable development of tourism in rural areas.