Tourism as a factor of transformation of rural areas: a systemic approach to the research problem

Abstract

This article presents a systemic approach employed to examine the role of tourism as a factor of transformation of rural areas. The conceptualisation rests on a system composed of four interconnected subsystems characterising tourism as a factor of socio-economic development, socio-cultural changes, and the transformation of the geographical environment and space. The system offers a notional scheme that allows a comprehensive study of countryside transformation under the influence of tourism.