Consumption patterns of second home owners and their importance for the multifunctionality of villages

A diversified structure of activity strengthens the local economy, protecting it from external shocks and allowing it to survive transitional periods. At the same time, less specialization and greater diversification of the economy is reflected in higher social well-being. For sustainable and lasting development, it is therefore more desirable to diversify the economy in local systems, while simultaneously striving for a situation in which its structure reflects local conditions and specifics, and possibly to a lesser extent the interests of external investors. The growing popularity of second homes is gradually spreading in rural areas, also in zones that are generally not considered attractive in terms of settlement or tourism. Along with it, there is a need for owners and users of second homes to satisfy their demand for various goods and services provided locally. The question then arises whether the scale and diversity of needs are significant enough to constitute a potential for diversification of the structure of the rural economy (multifunctionality of the village). Hence, the main objective of the study was to identify local consumption patterns of owners of second homes and assess them in the context of implementing the concept of multifunctional development of the village. Such an assessment was carried out in relation to the size and degree of differentiation of the structure of demand of second home owners for goods and services provided by local companies and farms and the dynamics in this respect, as well as in relation to the types of consumers identified during the study.