Tourism as a possible means of development of the disadvantaged settlements, on the example of Ópusztaszer village

The alternative source of income for those people who are living in rural settlements is the creation of services and basic infrastructure for rural tourism. The tourism contributes to the creation of new jobs, therefore increases the rural employment and also supports the local cultural and natural heritage. The reduction of unemployment and the expansion of services and incomes for the local people can help raise the living standards and maintain the rural way of life. In our study, we examined the touristic offers of Ópusztaszer and the role of local tourism service providers. We searched for the man-made and natural values of the settlement and in connection with this, we made a SWOT analysis to assess the local tourism potential. Many forms of rural tourism have developed in Ópusztaszer, including equestrian tourism, rural tourism, cultural tourism and ecotourism. The town has many untapped tourist opportunities; rethinking and exploiting them could contribute to sustainable tourism in the settlement in the long run. Rethinking the values would allow the development of further new forms of tourism, which would attract a wider range of tourists to the settlement