Exploring a market for agritourism in Fiji: tourists’ perspective

Abstract

This research aimed to interpret motivations of tourists for agritourism in Fiji. Data was collected through a paper-based face to face survey. Structured questionnaires were administered to a convenience sample of tourists at the two international airports. Descriptive and factorial statistics reveal seven principal factors that motivate and influence visitor preferences for agritourism venues. Most tourists seemed interested in agritourism but presently were unaware of the existence of such venues in Fiji. Findings also suggest that tourists preferred a short stay at working farms offering value for money experience. In terms of importance, hospitality followed by entertainment, were the two main desired services for an agritourism venue. This research offers insights for dynamic product development for the Fijian and Pan-Pacific agritourism industry.

A Review of Quantitative Studies in Agritourism: The Implications for Developing Countries

“…Agritourism is a type of business form that might face a series of problems during its establishment, operation, and sustainable management. Researchers have conducted a variety of studies on these obstacles, mostly using ANOVA, regression, and survival analyses; ANOVA was used in the early phase, and scholars have recently started to use survival analyses [4,7,42,54]. When establishing agritourism, farmers might face opposition from locals who think tourism will negatively impact the natural and cultural heritage [4,42,54].…”

“…Researchers have conducted a variety of studies on these obstacles, mostly using ANOVA, regression, and survival analyses; ANOVA was used in the early phase, and scholars have recently started to use survival analyses [4,7,42,54]. When establishing agritourism, farmers might face opposition from locals who think tourism will negatively impact the natural and cultural heritage [4,42,54]. Tourism development in a destination is a joint effort of the community; if a group of people is against the development of agritourism, then it will be difficult.…”

“…Cottrell et al [35] discovered that satisfied Chinese agritourists visiting one agritourism destination are less likely to visit other agritourism sites that offer the same activities at a similar location. In this regard, to attract more tourists, operators can promote authentic indigenous [12] and sports activities [54,58,61] on their farms. In addition, tourists would like to have local culinary experiences that change consumer behaviour, particularly food consumption [43,59].…”

“…Moreover, on the demand side, as agritourists have relations with both operators and fellow visitors [9], agritourism promoters should make sure to cover their interests as well. Tourists tend to neglect destinations with poor transportation connections far away from them [11,35,54]. Specifically, before the development of agritourism, policymakers need to analyse the potential source of tourists, available resources, access, location, and capabilities of farms.…”

“…Most farms in developed countries offer farm accommodation; extra income can be generated by introducing additional services in the accommodation plan. For instance, accommodation plus meal plans [30]; the provision of education, experiences, events, and sports activities [31][32][33]54,58]; and the introduction of typical products and brand products [26,64], and direct selling [43,53], generate additional income for farms. Recently, different types of physical recreational activities have become popular, even in agritourism.…”