Rural tourism associated with agriculture as an economic alternative for the farmers

This paper aims at presenting a possible approach to identify the best sites for rural tourism and also to analyze the synergies between agriculture and cultural heritage in Azores, in order to be incorporated in the full range of management concerns into private and public decision‑making. The following territorial aptitudes for alternative were used to simulate this exercise: urban, touristic, horticulture, agricultural, cattle and forestry. Soil potential was defined in a number of classes from I to VII. The best hypothetical sites for rural tourism were defined using Geographical Information Systems (GIS)