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'rural' and will therefore collect different data. Data on rural tourism are not easily obtainable.

Rural communities:
These tend to be non-uniform for example remove versus accessible rural areas contain very different types of settlement, employment opportunities, socio-demographic characteristics. Different community structures with diverse responses to tourism exist.

Tourism development strategies may not benefit all rural areas:
Where there is an inadequate supply of attractions or accommodation, tourism may not flourish. However marketing strategies must be good to attract tourists. Likewise, development of tourism provision by local people may not be feasible in a depressed rural economy.

Impact of Rural Tourism
The aim of tourism development in rural areas is, in general terms, to provide opportunities for economic and social development. In some areas, tourism provides the main source of income and employment, as well as providing social and economic benefits. Inevitably, negative aspects of rural tourism are evident as well. (Gannon 1994)

Economic
Assists viability of existing tourism and non-tourism business.

Encourages dependence on industry prone to uncontrollable change

Creates new employment

Creates part time, seasonal employment

Attracts inward investment

Incurs development costs and public service cost

Socio-cultural
Assists in viability of local service

Creates feeling of invasion by tourists

Creates sense of pride

Increases crime

Revitalises local culture, traditions, events and crafts

Reduction in local services

Environmental
Leads in environmental improvements in settlements

Increases wear and tear on landscape features

Provides income for conservation of buildings and natural environment

Creates need for new developments which may not be in keeping with local area.

Fosters awareness of conservation as worthwhile activity

Increases pollution and affects local biodiversity

Table 1: Positive and negative impacts of rural tourism

Niche Market: A Place in Rural Tourism
If the importance of the products one buys lies largely in their potential as social markers, tourism marketers must focus both on tourism's social signification and on meanings attached to spaces in which these occur. Explanations of tourism consumption cannot be derived in isolation from the social relations in which they are embedded. New users of the countryside are redefining what constitutes 'rurality', and there is a need to take postmodernism and the construction of the rural much more seriously. Contemporary social construction often transcends the countryside's tangible characteristics and qualities of open space or fresh air by representing it as the setting for the achievement of a range of personal goals. The need for a wider sociological approach to tourism studies has been emphasised by Sharpley, who argues for the recognition of broader social and cultural influences that shape consumer behaviour as a whole and influence consumption patterns. In the interests of the rural environment, therefore, and of the small businesses trying to meet the needs of e