ATTRACTIVENESS OF RURAL RECREATIONAL SPACE AND ITS EFFECT ON THE AGROTOURIST ACTIVITY OF FARMS IN THE SIEDLCE REGION (Wplyw atrakcyjnosci wiejskiej przestrzeni rekreacyjnej na dzialalnocs agroturystyczna gospodarstw rolnych regionu siedleckiego)

In order to analyze the impact of the attractiveness of a rural area on the acreage of land used for agricultural purposes and to explore the relationship between the attractiveness of rural recreational space and the number of a region's agrotourist accommodation facilities and their use, 87 farms providing tourist services in the Siedlce region were examined in 2006-2007. A questionnaire consisting of 17 questions was sent to the farms' owners. The collected data, presented in the form of graphs and tables, were used to calculate the rate of rural recreational space as an indicator showing the environmental value of the region. Additionally, the indicator of the average number of overnight stays and the rate of use of facilities offering overnight accommodation were calculated. The obtained figures were statistically analyzed to calculate the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and the coefficient of determination (R2). The study showed that the tourist activities conducted in the surveyed households had led to a reduction in the acreage of land used for agricultural purposes by 12.8% on average. The difference in the area of land under cultivation before and during the performance of tourist activities was in an essential way positively correlated with the index value of rural recreational space and the utilization rate of accommodation facilities. Additionally, the location, the size of accommodation facilities and their use depended in a large measure on the attractiveness of the area's natural environment.