[en] Rural tourism has been widely promoted in the European Union as an effective measure counteracting economic and social challenges facing rural areas, especially those with declining agricultural economies. Its role is particularly seen in the provision and maintenance of public goods, which are demanded more and more by the public and considered in policymaking. In Kosovo, rural tourism has been developed through the support of international development agencies and private sector initiatives, with the primary aim to generate additional income for rural households and sustainable management of natural and cultural resources. In any case, it could be stated that the use of territorial capital, stable links with agriculture, and promotion to wider circles of people for enhancing the quality of rural tourism, have not been well explored so far. In this regard the present study gives an overview on the initiatives undertaken, stakeholders involved and the way territorial capital has been used to develop tourist offerings in rural areas of Kosovo. The study also applies a comparative approach with two other areas of the European Union, Appennino Bolognese in North Italy and Alpujara in South Eastern Spain, to understand and compare the process of rural tourism, agrotourism development and demand characteristics between Kosovo and these other areas. A survey has been conducted with rural tourists in all three study areas to understand their preferences for public and private goods and services when visiting rural areas, and explore the role of agriculture in sustaining rural tourism. Results show that there is a potential demand to link rural tourism with agriculture and develop agrotourism in Kosovo, which would help to sustain agriculture and add additional value to local food products, which in turn would enhance the tourist offering and make it more attractive for visitors, but also for the farmers as an additional revenue-generating sector.

[es] El turismo rural ha sido ampliamente promovido en la Uni&oacute;n Europea como una medida eficaz para contrarrestar los desaf&iacute;os econ&oacute;micos y sociales frente a las zonas rurales, especialmente aquellos con econom&iacute;as agr&iacute;colas en declive. Su funci&oacute;n se ve particularmente en el suministro y el mantenimiento de los bienes p&uacute;blicos, que son cada vez m&aacute;s demandados por la sociedad y considerados en el dise&ntilde;o de las pol&iacute;ticas p&uacute;blicas. En Kosovo, el turismo rural se ha desarrollado a trav&eacute;s del apoyo de los organismos internacionales de desarrollo y las iniciativas del sector privado, con el objetivo principal de generar ingresos adicionales para las familias rurales y la gesti&oacute;n sostenible de los recursos naturales y culturales. En cualquier caso, se podr&iacute;a afirmar que el uso de capital territorial, ligado a la agricultura para la mejora de la calidad del turismo rural, no han sido bien explorado hasta ahora. En este sentido, el presente estudio ofrece una visi&oacute;n general sobre las gestiones realizadas, los actores involucrados y la forma en que el capital territorial se ha utilizado para desarrollar ofertas tur&iacute;sticas en las zonas rurales de Kosovo. En el estudio se aplica adem&aacute;s un enfoque comparativo con otras dos zonas de la Uni&oacute;n Europea, Appennino Bolognese en el norte de Italia y Alpujara en el sudeste de Espa&ntilde;a, para entender y comparar el proceso de turismo rural, el desarrollo del agroturismo y las caracter&iacute;sticas de la demanda entre Kosovo y estas otras &aacute;reas. Para ello, se ha dise&ntilde;ado una encuesta a los turistas rurales en las tres &aacute;reas de estudio, para identificar sus preferencias por los bienes y servicios p&uacute;blicos y privados al visitar las zonas rurales, y explorar el papel de la agricultura en el mantenimiento de turismo rural.