The issues that surround rural development and also the development of rural tourism are vast and are currently being reviewed and developed. There is a growing understanding among rural communities that they, the people, and the land are the two most outstanding natural resources that Northern Ireland possesses.
These two resources give Northern Ireland its two natural industries, tourism and agriculture. It is in realising, in the past decade, that rural tourism may have the potential to become a significant income generator and also inhibit some continuing problems that rural communities face, e.g. depopulation that the real prospect of rural tourism began.
The main purpose of the study is to explore rural development within Northern Ireland in the past decade and also within a study area of South Down / South Armagh, and the potential growth of rural tourism in the area.
…
