Falusi és Agroturizmus Országos Szövetsége

The Hungarian National Federation of Rural Tourism (Falusi és Agroturizmus Országos Szövetsége - FATOSZ) was established in 1994 to represent the interests of service providers operating in rural tourism, mostly accommodation providers. The central office can be found in Budapest which is open on workdays, tourists and visitors can get brochures, also ask questions. The Federation has an appropriate operational capacity for the implementation of the project, its members are from all around the country. FATOSZ, as the interest representation body of Hungarian service providers in rural tourism, has good relations with every partner organisation at the national and international level. Activities • Lobbying through regional entrepreneur federation, strong influence on regulation framework and in legislation processes, possibility of proposing and commenting legal drafts concerning the sector. • The Federation works with more professional partners, such as: Hungarian Hospitality Employers’ Association (VIMOSZ), The European Federation of Rural Tourism (Ruraltour), Hungarian Tourism Agency (Magyar Turisztikai Ügynökség), Ministry of Agriculture (Agrárminisztréium), National Association of Interest Representations for Small-scale producers and service - which supports smaller food producers (Kisléptékű Termékelőállítók és Szolgáltatók Országos Érdekképviseletének Egyesülete), etc. • Federation created a classification system for rural guest houses with international experts in 1995, called National Trademark System. The qualification of accommodations is still an important part of the Federation's work and its certificate is mandatory for rural accommodation providers in several Hungarian funding programs (VP6-6.4.1–21, Leader programs). • Organizing trainings for service providers (e.g. „Opportunities in rural tourism”) – The material focuses on and encourages the guest house operators to build partnerships with locals, have low season offers, we also present Hungarian and international best practices. • Participating in Eurocluster Tourism project where our Federation is responsible for coordination and implementation of service developments for rural accommodation service providers • Regional, national events (participation in relevant events, exhibitions) • Constantly growing national and international partnerships (Ruraltour, border countries) • Cooperation with the regional organisations and their members (service providers)– bottom-up approach • Measuring permanently the demand and customer needs, doing researches • Informing members about current news and opportunities (approx. 4000 members) • Creating updated newsletter and content to our platforms (social media, website etc.) • Creating a national catalogue, which includes rural guest houses and different service providers • Making image video about rural tourism, encouraging tourists to visit rural areas