Environmental Engineering and Management Journal December 2011, Vol.10, No. 12, 1911-1921 http://omicron.ch.tuiasi.ro/EEMJ/ “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Romania AGRICULTURAL DIVERSIFICATION AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS: POSSIBILITIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGROTOURISM  José-Manuel Hernández-Mogollón  , Ana-María Campón-Cerro, Felipe Leco-Berrocal, Antonio Pérez-Díaz University of Extremadura, Department of Business Management and Sociology, Faculty of Business Studies and Tourism, Avda. Universidad, s/n; 10.071 – Cáceres, Spain Abstract Agrotourism, a form of tourism that falls within the framework of rural tourism, is based on the tourism taking place on farms with the possibility of doing work with the owners of the farm with this being seen as a leisure activity, educational in nature and of interest to members of many groups. The importance of this kind of tourism resides in the possibility of complementing the income generated from the farm with income produced by the tourism, as well as assuring the conservation of the environment and the agricultural system in which it takes place. The objective of this paper is to highlight the possibilities for the development of agrotourism in areas where it has had little impact, from the perspective of agricultural entrepreneurs and their willingness to diversify their traditional activities and make them compatible with tourism. A survey of 494 entrepreneurs carried out in Extremadura (Spain) shows the existence of a positive attitude to the development of tourism (80%), though these same entrepreneurs also show some reluctance to actually participate in it themselves. From this survey it can be seen that although this kind of tourism has great potential in the area with interesting benefits related to increasing the income and quality of life of the agricultural entrepreneur (74%), as well as the preservation of the landscape and rural heritage (71%), it still faces many challenges. Key words: agricultural diversification, agrotourism, environmental sustainability, tourism management Received: September, 2011; Revised final: December, 2011; Accepted: December, 2011  Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed: e-mail: jmherdez@unex.es; Phone: 0034927257480 (#57906)  This paper was presented within 4 th International Conference on Tourism and Environment, 28 th – 30 th September, Cáceres, Spain 1. Introduction Recent years have seen large changes in the tourist market. From the point of view of the supply side it can be seen that there has been an increase in competition between destinations, the arrival of the low cost concept, new distribution and promotion channels based on information technologies and communication (ITCs) and the globalization of long haul travel. From the perspective of demand there has been a reduction in the length of vacations -which has encouraged the taking of shorter trips at various times of the year-, the appearance of new market segments (low cost, early retirees, singles, etc.) and multi- motivational markets, a reduction in destination loyalty, better informed clients who often opt to organize their own trips, a search for more active experiences, concern for cultural environmental surroundings, and greater overall expectations from clients who now look for new seansations, quality and sustainability. The new tourist is an active tourist, a multiple consumer of experiences and feelings and interested in new products. In this context experience