SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL TOURISM IN THE OPINION OF UNIVERSITY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

The article aims to present social conditions of innovation development in rural tourism. The first part of the article deals with the essence and types of innovation in the tourist industry in rural areas. Next, the article discusses the opinions on social conditions of innovation expressed by 139 students of the University of Life Sciences in Warsaw and 35 students of Jadwiga Dziubińska Agricultural Education Centre Schools in Golądkowo. In the students’ opinion, the most important interpersonal features and skills of agritourism farm owners useful for innovation in rural tourism are: creativity, openness to tourists’ needs and diligence. All the survey respondents believed that service providers should first of all initiate cooperation in the field of innovation with other companies of the tourism sector and obviously also with tourists.