TM101 - AGRI-TOURISM

I. Sustainable Tourism

What is Sustainable Tourism?

 Sustainable tourism refers to types of travel where the environmental, social and
economic impacts of tourism are factored in and where relevant adjustments are made
to minimize these negative consequences. It considers the needs of travellers, but also
the needs of host communities, local businesses and the natural world.

 This could mean adopting more sustainable methods of transportation, staying in more
environmentally friendly accommodation, eating locally and ethically sourced foods, and
avoiding harmful activities. Sustainable tourism can be related to leisure, business or
event travel, but also travel to visit friends and family too.

What is the goal of Sustainable Tourism?

 The ultimate goal of sustainable tourism is to reduce the impact of tourism on local
communities and the environment. This means making optimal use of resources to avoid
over-consumption, helping with the conservation of the natural world and making a
conscious effort to respect local traditions and heritage, and contributing to their
preservation.

 A major objective linked to sustainable tourism is making the long-term future of travel
more viable and this is achieved through education and behavioural changes.
Additionally, sustainable tourism aims to provide economic and social benefits for local
communities, resulting in more of a mutually beneficial „give and take‟ relationship.

What is the difference between Responsible and Sustainable Tourism?

 The concepts of sustainable tourism and responsible tourism are closely linked, to such
an extent that they are often used interchangeably. However, there are some
differences between the two ideas and it can be helpful to get to grips with what
separates the two terms, as well as what unites them.

 Sustainable tourism is heavily focused on the long-term sustainability of the tourism

industry, so that current needs do not compromise the needs of future generations.
Responsibility is shared between political leaders, tourism companies and other
stakeholders. Responsible travel, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with the
ways individuals interact with the destinations they visit and the focus is generally on
people making behavioural changes.

Definitions of Responsible Travel

 Responsible Travel refers to the behavior of individual travelers aspiring to make choices
according to sustainable tourism practices. The behaviors usually align with minimizing
 the negative impacts and maximizing positive ones when one visits a tourism
destination.

Why is Sustainable Tourism important?

 The concept of sustainable tourism is incredibly important because while travel can
generate economic benefits for a local area and provide jobs for those in the industry, it
can also have negative consequences, including over-use of resources, displacement of
wildlife and damage to local culture, all while contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

 As tourism is expected to continue to grow in the years ahead, current tourism habits
are going to become unsustainable, because they are causing too much harm to the
environment, local communities and the earth‟s natural resources. This makes
sustainable travel essential for the long-term viability of the tourism industry as a whole.

 By prioritising sustainable tourism, governments, travel companies, airlines, hotels,

restaurants and travellers can all help to ensure tourism is still possible in the years to
come. When steps are taken to provide benefits for locals and minimise the harm
caused by tourism, it becomes a force for good in the world.

What are the different types of Sustainable Tourism?

Sustainable tourism is a broad umbrella term, which has several different sub-categories.
Understanding the different types of sustainable tourism can be especially important for those
involved in tourism marketing.

1. Ecotourism

Ecotourism is the name given to responsible or green tourism to areas of natural beauty,
with a particular focus on ecological conservation. The aim of ecotourism is to protect
the natural environment, to find ways to benefit local communities – while respecting
their culture – and to educate travellers about the importance of responsible travel.
Energy efficiency, water conservation and protection of wildlife and indigenous people
are all key.

2. Community Tourism

Community tourism occurs when a local community invites tourists to visit and provides
accommodation for them. Crucially, this ensures that the local community always has
control over their local tourism industry, making the key decisions and setting their own
restrictions. In many cases, community tourism is based on creating realistic experiences
of what life is like in developing areas, and unique or unusual accommodation is a
regular feature.

3. Rural / Ethno Tourism

Rural tourism refers to travel that centres around rural areas, rather than urban areas. It
includes everything from hiking and camping trips, to agritourism, where tourists may
 participate in farming activities and experience agricultural lifestyles. Ultimately, this kind
of tourism focuses on natural features, such as forests, hills, mountains, fields and
waterfalls, rather than cities, tourist hot spots and built-up areas.

4. Soft Tourism

Soft tourism is a form of travel that prioritises local experiences, education, respect for
local culture and the avoidance of tourist hot spots. It can be contrasted with hard
tourism, or mass tourism, which is large-scale and focused on popular tourist attractions
and destinations. Companies that are operating in accordance with soft tourism
principles will prioritise longer stays, jobs for locals, and measures to avoid over-
crowding.

II. Introduction to Agri-tourism

Agritourism is a field that is growing in popularity as producers try to diversify and increase
profits. By combining agriculture and tourism, agritourism offers new sources of revenue but
also presents potential problems and legal complications to agritourism operators. Agritourism is
becoming an increasingly popular industry in almost every state. Destinations across the
country offer unique experiences ranging from picking your own fresh fruit at an orchard and
trying your hand at calf roping to hayrides at a pumpkin patch. There are tons of unique
activities waiting to be explored.

What is Agri-tourim?

 Simply stated, agritourism could be thought of as the crossroads of tourism and

agriculture. Stated more technically, agritourism can be defined as a form of commercial
enterprise that links agricultural production and/or processing with tourism to attract
visitors onto a farm, ranch, or other agricultural business for the purposes of
entertaining and/or educating the visitors while generating income for the farm, ranch,
or business owner.

 Regardless of the exact definition or terminology, any definition of agritourism should

include the following four factors:
 combines the essential elements of the tourism and agriculture industries;
 attracts members of the public to visit agricultural operations;
 is designed to increase farm income; and
 provides recreation, entertainment, and/or educational experiences to visitors.

 The term “agritourism” is often used interchangeably with “agri-tourism,” “agrotourism,”

“farm tourism,” “agricultural tourism,” or “agritainment.”

What are the examples of Agri-tourism?

Agritourism includes a wide range of activities:

1) On-farm sales of agricultural products (direct-to-consumer)

 (E.g., farm markets, pick-your-own operations)
 2) Educational tourism
 (E.g., School tours, winery tours, farm work experiences)
3) Entertainment
 (E.g., Hay rides, corn mazes, petting zoos, haunted barns)
4) Accommodations
 (E.g., bed & breakfasts, farm picnics)
5) Outdoor recreation
 (E.g., Horseback riding, hunting, fishing, bird watching)

More examples of Agritourism

 Agritourism operations exist throughout the United States and the world. They range
from small operations that function on a seasonal basis and offer limited consumer
services to large operations that operate throughout the year and provide numerous
consumer services. Common examples of agritourism include:

 pumpkin picking patches;

 corn mazes;
 U-Pick operations;
 petting and feeding zoos;
 hay rides;
 cut-your-own Christmas tree farms;
 dude ranches;
 demonstration farms;
 agricultural museums;
 living history farms;
 on-farm farmers‟ markets;
 winery tours and wine tasting;
 rural bed & breakfasts; and
 garden tours

 Examples of actual agritourism operations can be easily located through routine internet
searches and through web sites, such as [Link], that provide
comprehensive databases of agritourism operations throughout the country.

 Agritourism activities may include vegetable- or fruit-picking, sampling of local wines,

planting rice or root crops, visit to organic farms, milking cows, riding carabaos, catching
fish, coffee bean picking, farm-to-table dining, and more.

 This type of tourism invites active involvement from travelers. It triggers their curiosity
and thirst for an authentic experience. It allows travelers to see, experience and
participate in some agricultural activities which add more value to the overall experience
of the place.
Why is Agri-tourism important?

 Agritourism presents a unique opportunity to combine aspects of the tourism and

agriculture industries to provide a number of financial, educational, and social benefits
to tourists, producers, and communities.

 Agritourism gives producers an opportunity to generate additional income and an

avenue for direct marketing to consumers. It enhances the tourism industry by
increasing the volume of visitors to an area and the length of their stay.

 Agritourism also provides communities with the potential to increase their local tax
bases and new employment opportunities. Additionally, agritourism provides educational
opportunities to the public, helps to preserve agricultural lands, and allows states to
develop business enterprises. While agritourism may create new potential revenue
streams, it also presents new legal issues for farmers and landowners.

What are the Agri-tourism enterprise types?

1. Supplementary enterprise
 Agritourism as a minor activity that supports other products on the farm.
Example: if the primary enterprise is livestock production, inviting school groups
to the farm several days out of the month to learn about animals and farming
could supplement income.

2. Complementary enterprise

 Agritourism activities share equal footing with other enterprises inthe farm‟s
product mix. Example: an apple production enterprise on the farm. By selling half
of the apples to a wholesaler and the remainder to "pick-your-own" guests, the
two enterprises(wholesale & direct market) would be complementary.

3. Primary enterprise

 Agritourism as the dominant/primary activity on the farm. Example: opening a

winery on the farm and inviting guests to spend the day or weekend tasting
wine. The wine tasting package may include overnight lodging in a cottage on
the property. It may also involve producing grapes for the wine on the farm to
supplement the wine tasting activities.

III. Principles of Agri-tourism

What are the three important factors which contribute to the success of Agri-Tourism?

1. Farmer

 Majority of the cases, farmer is less educated less exposed and innocent. For
farmer, any outsider is a guest and treated wholeheartedly without any
commercial motive. Treating guest is pleasure for them than pain. He entertains
 the guest while entertaining himself in the process. He is not like an exploitative
natured businessman which itself facilitate a clean tourism atmosphere.

2. Village

 Village, which is located far from the city lacks urban facilities, but blessed with
natural resources. The investment is made by nature in the form of water bodies,
fields, forest, mountains, deserts and islands Community is more homogenous
and treating a guest is part of their culture rather than a profession leading to
natural environment required for urban tourist.

3. Agriculture

 Rich resources in agriculture namely land, water and plants are unique from
place to place bringing diversity and creating curiosity,. Each field is unique
which adds to the attraction of tourists. The way of cultivation and the products
are great attraction to the urban population. Indigenous knowledge of rural
people is a wealth, which adds to novelty and curiosity of urban population.
Combination of farmer, village and agriculture create a wonderful situation which
provides unlimited satisfaction to the tourist especially from urban areas.

What are the basic principles or features of Agri-Tourism?

 Agri-tourism should ensure the following three basic principles:

1. Have something for visitors to see:- Animals, birds farms and nature are the few
things which Agri-tourism could offer to the tourist to see. Apart from these, culture
dress festivals and rural games could create enough interest among forest in Agri-
tourism Participating in

2. Have something for visitors to do:- Agricultural operations and swimming, bullock
cart riding, camel riding, buffalo riding cooking and participating in the rural games
are the few activities to quote in which tourist can take part and enjoy.

3. Have something for visitors to buy:- Rural crafts, dress materials, farm gate fresh
agriculture products processed foods are the few items which tourist can buy as
memento for remembrance Three important factors which contribute.

What are the benefits of Agri-tourism?

1. Farmer/provider perspective

 Generate additional/new income- Often from underutilized resources

 Product line/market diversification
 Keep land in the family
 Employment for family members
 Interest/hobby
 Education of public and customers
  Build neighbor/community relations
 Tax incentives
 Companionship with guests/visitors

2. Visitor/user perspective

 Amidst increasing urbanization, farms offer - Connection to culture, farm heritage

& food - Access to fresh, locally-produced products - A tie to the land -
Opportunity to enjoy the outdoors
 Family friendly
 Increase in weekend/local travel
 Want to support agriculture

3. Economic and community perspective

 Jobs, personal income, tax revenue

 Preservation of farm-based rural amenities
 Encourages visitation - Revenue generated from outside visitors often stays
within the local economy (economic multiplier effects) - Visitors can influence
quality of life – e.g., helping to finance community facilities
 Community events & attractions intended for tourists also benefit & attract local
residents
 Defined sense of place/local identity

More benefits of Agri-tourism

Since farming is considered an integral aspect of Filipino culture, it can easily be cultivated into
an agri-tourism activity. It has since gained increasing popularity in the Philippines; becoming a
profitable and sustainable sector within the tourism industry. Some benefits agri-tourism has
brought about include:

a. Economic growth

Agri-tourism offers a path to economic development in rural areas. Agri-tourists

tend to be more than willing to pay to experience a unique opportunity to get in
touch with nature. The direct contribution of tourism to GDP was PHP215.5
billion (roughly USD 5.2 billion) in 2012, and this figure is forecasted to increase
by 7.5 percent in 2013. It was estimated that the number of international visitors
would hit 5.5 million in 2013 – an increase from 4.3 million in 2012. The tourism
industry in the Philippines is clearly on an upward trajectory. On the other hand,
the agricultural sector in the Philippines employs close to 32 percent of the
population and contributes approximately 14 percent of national GDP.

b. Social benefits

Experts estimate that the Philippines could create a total of 14.6 million new jobs
by 2016 should the country adopt various reforms geared towards improving the
business environment, particularly in the sectors of agriculture and tourism.
 Using the land for agri-tourism, the state can also achieve a balance in tourism
development between urban and rural areas; spreading the benefits of tourism
and contributing to poverty alleviation.

c. Heritage and ecological conservation

The majority of the agri-tourism sites in the Philippines have been established as
World Heritage Sites. The UNESCO appellation is deployed as a promotional tool
for Philippines Agri-Tourism to implement conservation and promotional efforts
of such sites.

Aside from the economic impact of farm sites, farm tourism sites also help promote tourism and
products of the area, especially those produced and manufactured by the rural industries. This
is a common practice worldwide. In fact, some of the famous tourist spots in Europe and the US
are farms.

In Costa Rica, a famous coffee plantation has eventually put up one of the world‟s best
ecolodges where you can stay and wake up the morning after to visit the plantation and try
your hand in picking coffee berries. It also has a wonderful restaurant that serves its famous
varieties of coffee, sells soaps made from coffee, and other farm products.
In Italy you can rent a cottage situated in the middle of the farm. If you want to cook your own
meal, it can provide the ingredients, like fruits and vegetables, that you can pick just outside
your doorstep.

A common factor among these farms, no matter where they are located, is that many jobs and
revenues generated for the community are sourced from this activity.

What are the issues that agri-tourism faces?

The issues which needs attention for the promotion of Agri-tourism are:

1. Publicity : It is difficult to provide publicity to a remoteAgr- tourism unit. Hence, either

collectively such Agri-tourism operators can provide publicity or organizations like ITDC,
State tourism development corporations, NGOs, press and tour operators can take up
this responsibility. Information technology can play very important role in promotion of
Agri-tourism, An interactive website containing all details about Agri-tourism locations
and a toll free 24 hours help line can provide necessary information to Agri-tourists.

2. Transport : Reaching the remote Agri-tourism units is the greatest challenge due to lack
of approach roads and poor transportation facilities in rural areas. Tele connectivity is
must which is yet to reach villages Government should play important role in creating
these facilities namely roads, transport and telecommunication to rural areas specially
where Agri-tourism units are established on priority basis. This efforts could be effective
with private participation in partnership mode.

3. Accommodation : Safe and clean accommodation is must in Agri-tourism. Urban and

foreign tourists look for these minimum facilities. Orienting Agri tour operators on one
hand and providing incentive to such efforts on other hand is necessary. Regular clean
 water supply and neat toilets are important. At the same time, it is necessary to limit
modern facilities in which Agri-tourist is not interested.

4. Networking : Networking public and private stakeholders at national and state level to
assist the Agri-tourism operator at remote place is necessary. This network can get
policy support, infrastructure and publicity to Agri-tourism units.

5. Capacity building of farmers : Farmer need to be oriented on maintenance of facilities,

hospitality and public relation which he is not aware.

6. Safety of tourists : Agri-tourism units are located in remote areas which lacks roads,
medical facilities telecommunication and sometimes threat from theft and wild animals.
Hence, support of local population is must besides facilities for emergency medical care.

7. Private : public partnership Agripreneurs, farmers organizations, co-operatives, NGOs

and agribusiness companies can take up these ventures with the help of farmers and
government agencies tour operators. Transporters and hospitality industry would also
benefit in the process.

Agritourism has its downsides and is not for everyone :

- Liability exposure
- Intrusion into one‟s privacy (for most, the farm is also home)
- Concerns that agritourism “cheapens” the image of farming
- Possible tensions with neighbors and municipalities
- Regulatory/policy issues (e.g., zoning, right to farm protection, deed of easement
permissibility)
- New business model for many farmers - Increased risk level for capital investments -
New skill sets required (e.g., hospitality, retail marketing, customer service) - Most
farmers do not have formal business or marketing plans