Summary:

Transformation of Polish economy (started at the turn of the eighties and nineties of the 20th century) has changed many socio-economic conditions of the development of all regions in Poland. The various processes which were based on transformation of the previous structures created in the centrally-steered management system and on the development of new structures, are observed in many places in Poland. One of the most popular forms of development of rural areas is agrotourism at present times.
An analysis of the agrotourist development in Poland is performed in the paper. The current tendencies in the world-wide tourism have been taken into consideration The place and role of tourism both in the state policy and regional pol-icy have been shown in the state and regional documents.
In the Świętokrzyskie voivodship a considerable development of agrotourist farms, with that of cooperating institutions, like agrotourist associations, consultative teams and agrotourist chambers is recently observed. The voivodship is very attractive due to its nature, landscape and monuments of culture. Basic natural resources of this region are forests. The agrotourism is a very important function of this area. First agrotourist farms were organized in 1993. Most of them are small and are not profitable, thus most of their owners became part-time farmers. The income outside the agriculture can be for them just the agrotourism. The Świętokrzyskie voivodship is visited by many tourists from various parts of Poland. Agrotourism is a real chance for the Świętokrzyskie voivodship farmers, to ameliorate their difficult economic situation.