Summary:

The paper aims at demonstrating the importance of tourism meant as an activity and economic activity in the multifunctional development of mountain rural areas. Multifunctional development of mountain rural areas appears as a composition of other, nonfarm functions, connected with agriculture and its environment. Taking over nonfarm functions by rural areas, including tourist function, enables decreasing agrarian unemployment and, furthermore, the emigration of local population. Approximating living standards of rural communities and city dwellers is connected with modernizing and development of technical-economic and social infrastructure, which has a stimulating impact on the development of off-farm activities in rural areas, which in turn positively affects economic development and increases the number of new jobs. Mutlifunctionality of mountain rural areas is therefore necessary not only from the economic perspective but also from the social point of view.