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Volume XV |

The Standardization of the Services in Farm-stay Tourism – The EuroGites Method as a Possible Solution

Abstract: This study assessed conceptual terms of farm-stay tourism through connection with the criteria of quality of services. Based on best practices and experiences from the European countries, the European Federation of Rural Tourism (EuroGites) has established common quality assessment standards for accommodation units in rural areas. Criteria of established standards are grouped into five clusters: equipment, surroundings, services at the accommodation and its surroundings, non-material aspects and security. This paper aims at a comparative analysis between the minimal conditions for international and domestic markets, through the assessment of the farm-stay tourism quality segments. In this respect, the research has been conducted in the selected villages in Vojvodina Province (Northern Serbia) by using EuroGites methodological instrument. The main hypothesis of the paper was based on the estimation that quality of farm-stay tourism in Vojvodina Province is measurable by the extent to which they comply with the EuroGites criteria in the domestic and international level. The results showed that the three sub-hypotheses are confirmed, and two of them are disproved. The research findings represent a useful tool for obtaining information about many aspects of quality in farm-stay tourism and, with slight modifications, it can be used in various areas of quality research.