The article presents the economic conditions of development of rural tourism, including agritourism. Empirical studies were conducted, covering a population of 42 service providers, in 2014 in selected rural communities in Podlaskie province. The analysis of responses shows that the opportunity to earn additional income was the most frequently reported reason for starting the provision of tourist services. At this answer showed mostly people with secondary level of education. The research shows that the own resources of service providers were the main sources of funding agritourism activity. The share of income from agritourism activity in the structure of the personal income of the farmer stood in the middle of the surveyed farms of up to 25%.