Villas inside and out

One great villa-holiday is definitely agritourism. Combining 'tourism' and 'agriculture', agritourism refers to the type of tourism that responds to the agricultural interest of tourists by letting them experience farm life for short or long periods. The concept of agritourism however takes its origins far back in time, in the very definition of the word 'villa'.

The word 'villa' originated in Roman times to define those dwellings used by the upper-class to rest, away from the city. This concept eventually evolved and a new type of 'villa' emerged soon afterwards to refer to self-sufficient farm estates where food and drinks were produced, making these villas isolated and independent places, not needing the outside world for sustainability. Owners boasted this self-sufficiency, from which they could drink their own wine and eat their own meat. These villas were not so different from the first type; the distinction was that they were made completely self-sufficient through agriculture and farming.

Today, agritourism takes this idea of self-sufficiency associated to a villa and adds the concept of holiday to it to attract tourists all over the world interested in enjoying a real farm experience, living out of the estate's own produces. Depending on the farm's owners, visitors can get free accommodation in return for some farm work such as picking fruits or feeding animals. Stays at agritourism villas can also be highly expensive the more services are provided and the more luxurious the accommodation is. These types of agritourism holiday villas have mushroomed around the world and can now be found in Europe, Australia, Canada, the United States and East Asia.

The pleasures associated with this type of villa tourism include staying at isolated resorts away from noise and crowds, enjoying fresh air and natural landscapes and of course, eating the freshest food made directly from the farm's fields and cattle. It is without a doubt a healthy holiday and can be as economical as you wish it to be. Now that we are increasingly more interested in what we eat and how food is produced, agritourism will surely expand as a tourism niche in the years to come.

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