Factors Related to Profitability of Agritourism in the United States: Results from a National Survey of Operators

Abstract

Agritourism is a growing area of the tourism sector with many positive social and economic benefits for farmers, their communities, and for tourists. While researchers have been studying the phenomenon for several decades, factors that lead to profitable outcomes for agritourism operators are still not well understood, hindering the effectiveness of agritourism development and the systems of support available to farmers. Using a survey of 1834 farms and ranches open to visitors in the United States, the goal of this study is to identify the factors that influence the profitability of agritourism operations. This study shows that several factors have positive associations with increased agritourism profitability, such as the number of years of experience of the operator, farm scale (acreage and total farm revenue), providing on-farm product sales, and offering events and entertainment. Off-farm product sales and being a female operator have a negative association with profitability in agritourism. We discuss the implications of our findings on agritourism operators, suggest their utility for tourism planning and rural community development professionals, and offer suggestions for future research.

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“…Policymakers at community, state, regional, and national levels can use this information to understand better the impact of policies and regulations on agritourism operators. While policymakers may understand that agritourism aids farm profitability (Hollas et al, 2021), they may not understand how policy influences an operation's viability, particularly as related to liability concerns. Government officials and regulators need to be more aware of how policies are interpreted and applied, as well as how they are meant to be interpreted and applied, to ensure that operators are not overcommitting funds on unnecessary permits and other requirements in order to comply.…”

Impacts of Agritourism Revenues on Farm Incomes in 2004–2020 – The V4 Experience

“…Visitors can find active or passive leisure on an active farm, which offers various types of recreational and tourist services, while farmers, apart from farming, provide their guests with accommodation, food, and additional attractions related to the farming tasks on their farm. Very similar definitions are given by Hollas et al (2021);and Chase et al (2018). Agritourism has developed very successfully in many countries in Europe, Asia and the American continent (Kania and Bogusz, 2016;Roman and Grudzień, 2021;He et al, 2021;Dömeová and Jindrová, 2011;Radović, 2020), with increasing numbers of farms involved in this activity.…”

“…2 n pp. 67-78 communities) and therapeutical or recreational tourism (using the natural healing factors of the area visited) in a natural environment (Roman and Grudzień, 2021;Hollas et al, 2021). The facilities provided by rural tourism include facilities available in functioning farms; rural accommodation in farms without agricultural activity; therapeutic or educational or recreational facilities; facilities providing access to the cultural traditions and values of the rural location.…”

“…Agritourism can generate both economic and non-economic benefits for the providers, including support for the local heritage and improvement of the financial position of family farms, and it can also serve as a marketing tool for related farm products (Barbieri and Mshenga, 2008;Hollas et al, 2021). Survey research underlines the importance of economic goals to operators dealing with agritourism, and suggest that agritourism has a positive impact on farm's financial performance.…”

Viability of an Integrated Farm as an Agritourism Site in Toboso, Negros Occidental inthe New Normal

“…2021) cited a sustainable livelihood approach that is mostly utilized by most organizations, breaking down the livelihood capital into human capital, natural capital, physical capital, financial capital, and social capital, which can be applied as well to farm households practicing integrated farming. The high viability result of internal factors will create leverage and a positive impact on the farm in embarking on an agritourism site project that will ensure the financial viability of the agritourism operations (Hollas et al, 2021)…”