The current research was motivated by observed particularities of local communities and the necessity of local rural economy diversification. Development through rural tourism is a possible sustainable response that can be implemented in many of Europe’s rural areas, including Marginimea Sibiului. Thus, the purpose of this research, and its main contribution, was to identify the specific features of the Marginimea Sibiului area and possible strategies for capitalizing on local resources through rural tourism activities. We also sought to understand the extent to which rural tourism is seen by the owners of tourist structures as a developmental possibility. We utilized a case study research method to address these questions. The research has major implications due to the questionnaires applied to the owners of rural tourism structures during August 2022, which allowed us to determine: the motivation of tourist structure owners to carry out tourism activity, the degree of development, aspects concerning the operation and management of the tourist structure, and future development and improvement of the owned products. Because the area is representative at the national level in terms of rural tourism activity, an X-ray was sketched after the conclusions were drawn, which issued some proposals for “mixing” the resources through rural tourist activities as a “presentation modality”, which may potentially have favorable future consequences.

The hedonic pricing model posits that the price of a given product or service is an aggregate of several distinct characteristics that define it. In the context of tourism, this approach can be used to assess the prices of accommodations in a given area or market. This study explores the main determinants of tourism prices in the Brașov area of central Romania, a county that ranked as the second most visited area in Romania in 2021 based on the number of arrivals according to the ordinary least squares regression model on a sample of 398 accommodation units of different types. The main finding of this research paper is that prices are strongly influenced by luxury amenities and that prices tend to rise in lower-population-density areas, which we associate with rural areas. As previously noted in the literature, monetary values can be assigned to incremental changes in the independent variables, with the most significant changes deriving from the inclusion of spa, sauna and restaurant services in the tourism offer of accommodation units.

Agritourism activity supports rural development because it capitalize agricultural resources from rural area and community and it also use crafts, traditions and other resources of local community, thus ensuring long-term sustainable development. Agritourism can come as a salvation for the sustainable development of localities with specific resources, but also as a salvation in terms of passing on to future generations valuable resources, largely lost in many rural areas. In the maintenance of the tourist vocation of these localities, the inhabitants of these areas and the tourists must participate equally, the desired goal being the increase of tourists' interest in these areas, the maintenance of the specific lifestyle and why not the profitability of the conservation of these resources for those involved. Where it is possible to ensure the conservation and valorization of these resources through tourism, villages have "a new chance at life", turning into permanent tourist locations. The sustainability of agritourism, or the "health" of the rural environment, derives from the fact that this activity cannot be dissociated from the economic, social and cultural life of the community. Between tourism and the environment there is a close relationship based on: environmental elements considered tourist attractions; tourist facilities and infrastructure; and the impacts generated by tourism development. The link between agritourism and the sustainability of rural communities derives from the definition of this activity.

The development of rural communities is a process in which the community is actively involved, with the aim of mobilizing all initiatives to capitalize on its own resources for the social and economic benefit of the community. The authors of this paper propose an analysis of the existing resources on the territory of the Orăştiora de Sus commune, Hunedoara county. In this study, both types of tourism presented above are demonstrated in the commune of Orăştioara de Sus. Rural tourism can be carried out strictly through the involvement of the community in this field, and agritourism can include services carried out by the inhabitants of the area where the authorities are involved in cultural tourism and mountain sports. The methodology used in the research consists of the collection and processing of statistical data, graphic interpretation, as well as the analysis and synthesis of information regarding the development of the rural area from the specialized literature in the field. After completing a SWOT analysis, the authors determine the main directions the locality should go in terms of development.