Rural and agri‐tourism as a tool for reorganising rural areas in old and new member states — a comparison study of Ireland and Poland

Abstract Both assessment of the physical, economic and social impacts of enlargement and monitoring the implementation of policy directives are vital to future European Union operation. This paper investigates tourism development within relatively underdeveloped regions within Ireland and Poland, and it suggests implications for tourism operations. Comparison is made between product and service offerings in both regions. Strong similarities exist between the profiles of operators, operator motivations differ, and business diversification depends on regional resources and dependency on tourism markets. The level of diversification ultimately determines rural tourism development. The value of using Ireland as a reference model for Polish development and critical issues for tourism advisors and policy makers are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.