Praha - Have you ever wanted to milk a cow or work in the fields alongside real farmers? If so, you are not alone.
According to the information provided by Czechtourism, a governmeny-supported organization that promotes tourism in the country, and the Rural Tourism Association (Svaz venkovské turistiky) Czechs are increasingly interested in spending their holidays in rural areas.

An unofficial estimate indicates that hundreds of people visited Czech farms last year.

"The Rural Tourism Association comprises of 130 enterpreneurs, which is about 5-10 percent of the total number of enterpreneurs involved in agrotourism. Last year, our association registered 32,500 farm visitors who spent at least a few days on the farm. But I reckon the number is ten or twenty times higher," says head of the association, Petr Novák.

Beside the Czechs, foreigners are coming to experience the Czech rural life as well, the Dutch being among the most frequent visitors. Germans and Poles enjoy the Czech countryside too.

Austrians prefer their own

"Germans enjoy the south-west part of the country, while the Poles come to the north. The Austrians explore the Czech countryside the least," says Novák in the association's press release.

Foreign tourists, however, require high standards of service. Farms that provide board and lodging are preferred. The price for a night ranges from CZK 100 to 500.

"Agrotourism brings extra money for the farmers, whose main activity is still agriculture. Italy, France and Ireland have developed this kind of tourism very quickly. In the Czech Republic it thrives mainly in the Šumava mountains, south Bohemia, Vysočina, Český ráj and Valašsko in Moravia," says Czechtourism.

Only two years ago the numbers were completely different; insufficient promotion and accomodation available only throughout the summertime were the major obstacles why people hesitated to spend their holidays on farms. 

See the Rural Tourism Association's site here.