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Selling ruralities: how tourist entrepreneurs commodify traditional and alternative ways of conceiving the countryside

Since undergoing transformations associated with substantial economic and social restructuring, rural areas are addressed as spaces of consumption. The commodification of environmental amenities and cultural meanings has resulted in rural tourism structures. This article explores how tourist entrepreneurs commodify different meanings of rurality in the low mountain range area of the Bavarian Forest, Germany. Tourists’ demands for a rurality shaped by agriculture were and are fulfilled by agritourism, which provides many opportunities to experience farmers’ daily lives. The study depicts efforts of performances and staging among hosts and identifies challenges. Operators commodified local rootedness by traditional building material, combined with components of luxury and intimacy (i.e. wooden chalets). Individual desires for rurality resulted in differentiated demands for accommodation type which may encourage diversification of poorly equipped destinations.