Methodology of studying preferences among rural residents as element of procedure for public land management in rural areas

Abstract

Business activities conducted in rural areas are associated with crop cultivation, animal rearing and agricultural produce processing. The countryside residents, after hard work, should be offered a chance of having pleasant leisure time activities. In general, the ambient conditions in rural areas provide many opportunities, but the surroundings should be adapted as to allow the pursuit of various forms of recreation. Another reason justifying the allocation of some land in villages to recreational purposes is the need to satisfy expectations of holidaymakers, who increasingly often choose agritourism as a form of summer holiday. This article will discuss the methodology, which can be applied to exploring opinions of village residents and to processing data sets needed to identify the most desirable forms of the management of land for recreational purposes in the countryside, using a rural commune in north-eastern Poland as an example. This part of Poland has certain distinguishing features, including a low level of urbanisation, and the local residents responding to the survey suggested what type of investment projects would stimulate the further development of their commune.