Growing Agritourism

Welcome to Growing Agritourism, an Elevating Canadian Experiences webinar. The goal of the webinar is to arm you with the information and tactics needed to grow agritourism within your destinations. This includes developing the ability to:

• differentiate between culinary tourism and other forms of tourism, while identifying examples of culinary experiences relevant to your region;
• describe the breadth and diversity of businesses involved in culinary tourism through deconstructing the culinary tourism value chain; and
• explain to tourism operators and stakeholders why culinary tourism is a vital component in servicing the needs of travellers.

The webinar will also teach you how to:

• connect agritourism to culinary tourism, explaining why the former concept has not been universally defined;
• characterize the agritourist and generalize the types of activities associated with agritourism;
• defend the use of agritourism as an economic diversification strategy for rural agricultural communities; and
• understand the challenges and opportunities relating to the development of agritourism experiences.

Welcome to Growing Agritourism, an Elevating Canadian Experiences webinar.

Agenda

Before moving on in the module, please note the sidebar along your screen where links to external references and other resources will appear throughout the presentation.

At this time, it’s important to acknowledge the extraordinary value that Indigenous peoples across Canada bring to the tourism industry. The land and traditional territories of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit provide unique culinary offerings that enhance the experiences for visitors to destinations all over the country.

Through the combined efforts of several organizations, including the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, Indigenous Culinary of Associated Nations, and Indigenous Tourism Ontario, Indigenous culinary has grown into a popular driver for the development of agritourism in Canada.

Elevating Canadian Experiences

The tourism sector is a key contributor to Canada’s economy, and there is opportunity to maximize its potential by showcasing our culinary excellence to tourists, both domestic and international, and expanding products and experiences into the shoulder and winter seasons.

Funded by the Government of Canada, the Elevating Canadian Experiences program offers tailored content to help destination marketing organizations and businesses develop strategies to boost culinary tourism as well as winter and shoulder season tourism across the country.

The ECE program is a team effort, in which deep research and shared knowledge are brought together to ensure tourism continues to thrive as an economic pillar in Canada.

Webinar Learning Outcomes

The goal of the webinar is to arm you with the information and tactics needed to grow agritourism within your destinations. This includes developing the ability to:

• differentiate between culinary tourism and other forms of tourism, while identifying examples of culinary experiences relevant to your region;
• describe the breadth and diversity of businesses involved in culinary tourism through deconstructing the culinary tourism value chain; and
• explain to tourism operators and stakeholders why culinary tourism is a vital component in servicing the needs of travellers.

The webinar will also teach you how to:

• connect agritourism to culinary tourism, explaining why the former concept has not been universally defined;
• characterize the agritourist and generalize the types of activities associated with agritourism;
• defend the use of agritourism as an economic diversification strategy for rural agricultural communities; and
• understand the challenges and opportunities relating to the development of agritourism experiences.

Module One: An Introduction to Culinary Tourism

Intro to Culinary Tourism

Before attempting to grow agritourism in your destination, it’s important to understand the gap between the food & drink and tourism industries. By doing so, you’re able to identify ways to bridge that gap, which opens the door to developing compelling culinary experiences that drive tourism in Canada.

Bridging the Gap Between Food & Drink and Tourism

Although many restaurants don’t consider themselves as tourism businesses, it’s critical that those serving food and drink are open and ready to meet the needs of visitors to your destinations. Similarly, not all tourism businesses harness the value that the local culinary community adds to a destination’s product and service offerings.

The result is tourism attractions, such as museums, often sell food that has nothing to do with the place in which they operate.

This situation is not unique to Canada; in fact, destinations all around the world are continuing to serve the food that they think visitors want. However, our research shows there is consumer demand for higher quality culinary experiences that reflect the destination they’re visiting.

So, what does it mean to bring these two industries together through culinary tourism development?

In short, it means offering more meaningful and multisensory experiences that reflect your destinations. It also means stimulating visitor demand and localizing the economic impact on your tourism operators, businesses, and attractions.

And considering the current realities facing the two industries, a shift towards a culinary tourism model will also help build both resiliency and sustainability into Canadian tourism – especially in the post-pandemic era.

Now that we’ve identified the gap between the tourism industries, let’s define exactly what culinary tourism is. It’s considered “any tourism experience where a person interacts with food and drink that reflects the history, heritage, and culture of a place.”

Food tourism, and gastronomy tourism are other labels for culinary tourism, with one term being used over another depending on the destination; for example, gastronomy tourism is more often used in Europe.

The important thing to remember is that culinary tourism is focused on the meaningful connection between food and place.

There are countless activities and experiences associated with culinary tourism. A few examples are:

• apple picking at a local farm or orchard;
• making maple taffy while on a winter hike; or
• having a local and seasonal goods picnic at a remote location or conservation area.

It’s important to understand the diverse experiences associated with culinary tourism, because it shows that not all tourism experiences stand alone from food and beverage. In fact, there is often overlap, which must be consider when trying to attract culinary tourists to your destinations.

To explain, think about how rural tourism is enhanced when you combine it with a culinary-related experience, such as touring a wine region in an RV – with a designated driver, of course.

Or consider how outdoor adventures are complemented by culinary tourism, like a guided fishing trip ending with a shore lunch prepared by a local chef using seasonal ingredients from the region’s food producers.

Culinary Tourism Value Chain

Food & drink products and experiences are used by a variety of tourism businesses to capitalize on the growing popularity of culinary tourism. This led to the development of the culinary tourism value chain, which was designed to increase the competitive advantage of your destinations and their operators.

Given the limited capacity of a single service provider or attraction, businesses band together through collaboration in order to deliver combined value to consumers. This allows individual operators to remain focused on what they do best while benefiting from the increased efficiency and effectiveness of working as a collective.

Visitor experiences are also enriched with each layer of value they receive when exploring a destination. This presents the opportunity for your destinations’ culinary communities to form strategic partnerships with businesses and deliver multisensory experiences that exceed the expectations of visitors.

Any business that includes a taste of place or culinary experience as part of their offerings are featured in the value chain, such as:

• accommodations;
• attractions;
• beverage producers;
• cooking schools;
• farmers’ and public markets;
• festivals & events;
• growers, producers, and suppliers;
• foodservice operators;
• retailers; and
• tour operators.

Who are Culinary Tourists?

When talking about the culinary tourist, there is a common stereotype about what type of person that is. Many of us picture someone at a fancy restaurant, taking Instagram photos, and writing about culinary experiences on their food blog.

Although this person is very much a culinary tourist, they are only one part of much larger market segment. In fact, culinary tourists are a very diverse group who are motivated by experiential travel and want authentic connections with the destinations they visit.

In other words, culinary tourists are “visitors who plan their trips partially or totally in order to taste the cuisine of a place.” They are both consumers looking for exclusive meals at high-end restaurants as well as those craving street food from markets stalls, while some culinary tourists are agritourists looking to connect to where their food comes from.

Culinary experiences have become a popular motivator for travel, but they are also discovered in more spontaneous ways by consumers during their trips. So, it’s important to remember that almost everyone is considered a culinary tourist, whether they identify themselves as one or not.

In the end, everybody has to eat. If you think beyond the stereotypical foodie as a culinary tourist, there is tremendous potential to attract new travellers to your destinations.

The Future of Culinary Tourism

Prior to COVID-19, experiential travel was on the rise. And when the tourism industry finally rebounds from the pandemic, research suggests the trend will continue to rise in popularity.

We know there is pent-up demand for travel and consumers are seeking human connection more so than ever. Culinary tourism offers hands-on, multisensory experiences with local businesses and attractions and allows visitors to connect with your destinations in a more meaningful way.

Also, as we’ve seen in the past, and especially through the pandemic, consumers are increasingly more aware of their local food system. And travellers are no different, wanting to know where their food comes from when visiting a Canadian destination.

Culinary tourists are especially eager for hands-on experiences that allow them to interact with the people and stories of the places they visit. For them, it’s a way to get to know the destination better.

The pandemic has also shown that driving trips will be prioritized over flying, specifically with culinary tourism in mind. As such, there’s an opportunity to target Canadian travellers who wouldn’t normally travel within the country but are now looking at places closer to home.

This also indicates a shift to a more safety-conscious decision-making process about where, when, why, and how consumers travel for pleasure. Knowing this, businesses must develop communication strategies to educate travellers about how they are kept safe when visiting your destinations.

Aside from that, outdoor activities and attractions with fewer crowds are bound to be favoured in a post-COVID environment. It’s important to keep this factor in mind when developing culinary tourism experiences in your region.

Module Two: Agritourism is Culinary Tourism

The Benefits of Agritourism

Overall, agritourism is steadily growing within the world of culinary tourism, which creates an opportunity for agricultural, or production-based businesses, to participate in the industry.

Another benefit is agritourism broadens the set of stakeholders your destinations can work with to create meaningful experiences for visitors. And as a tool for rural economic development, agritourism also helps stimulate diversified use of land, assisting rural communities with:

• combatting depopulation while preserving cultural heritage;
• transitioning away from commodity production and/or diversifying production; and
• promoting local innovation, regeneration, and resilience.

Diversified revenue streams for production-based businesses also increases employment, provides public access to and awareness of food producers, and creates demand for locally grown, raised, and harvested products.

Agritourism creates opportunities for one-on-one contact between locals, visitors, and producers, allowing the latter to tell their own stories while selling directly to consumers. Direct contact between farmers and visitors not only empowers growers to tell their own stories, but it also helps showcase local agricultural products to visitors that may seek these out once they return home.

Therefore, by providing opportunities for consumers to interact directly with your destinations’ food producers, agritourism provides the immersive experience today’s travellers seek. Farmers are the original place makers, and tourism experiences that focus on agriculture or agri-tourism experiences, are the most raw expressions of culture and place.

Agritourism vs. Culinary Tourism

While agritourism and culinary tourism are similar, it’s important to understand the difference between the two.

A culinary tourism product is made up of a collection of taste experiences that can be combined for enjoyment by locals and visitors alike. On the other hand, agritourism experiences and products don’t always incorporate the taste element.

This said, many visitor experiences, from shopping at a farmers’ market to participating in a farm tour, can easily be described as a culinary tourism OR agritourism experience because they include aspects of both.

The most important thing to remember is successful culinary and agritourism strategies build upon the unique ways in which businesses and communities express their foodways. Meaning the stories they tell about the history, heritage, and cultures behind the food of a destination.

Specifically for rural communities, developing culinary and agritourism together is a great way to maximize the economic impact of their diverse capital and tourism assets.

Due to the region-specific nature of activities, landscapes, and agricultural production, agritourism looks different around the world. However, the purpose remains the same regardless of the context, in that agritourism experiences are meant to bridge the gap between the tourism and production sectors.

As previously mentioned, agritourism presents an opportunity for the economic diversification of farms, but it cannot exist without a connection—whether direct or indirect—to production. If this connection doesn’t exist your destinations, developing that relationship must become a priority.

Furthermore, given the inconsistent definition of agritourism, it’s important to clearly identify those experiences for your tourism operators, stakeholders, and visitors alike.

1st World Congress on Agritourism

In 2018, the 1st World Congress on Agritourism came together in Bolzano, Italy, where researchers and operators shared what agritourism looked like across the world and discussed whether there is a universal definition.

The multi-day discussion showed that agritourism can be characterized by an authentic farm holiday experience. Here, authentic means the experience takes place on-farm and is a sustainable and complementary activity engaged in by families predominantly working in agriculture. The congress also found that agritourism can be:

• beneficial for family farms in rural and suburban areas;
• create numerous benefits for sustainable local development; and
• an effective instrument to strengthen the viability of rural areas.

In this instance, there is a strong focus on the farm, whether a working or non-working farm. However, because agritourism is highly dependent on context, there are many other types of agritourism that take place off the farm.

Agritourism in Peterborough & the Kawarthas

Local and regional context is an important consideration when defining agritourism and establishing authenticity. In other words, the concept of agritourism needs to be based on the agricultural and tourism assets of your destinations.

Taking a more landscape-based approach to developing agritourism highlights regional cultures and assets that may not be part of on-farm agricultural production, such as Indigenous land management, food production, and harvesting.

A good example comes from Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development & Tourism. In 2018, the region, which is just located between Toronto and Ottawa, along with their tourism partners, began exploring agritourism as a growth opportunity for the destination.

For Peterborough & the Kawarthas, agritourism includes “diverse experiences that connect locals and visitors alike to where their food comes from, whether directly through an activity that happens at the place of production, or indirectly by engaging with the people behind the scenes.”

As mentioned, agritourism combines several elements and experiences to provide travellers with an authentic connection to your destinations’ growers and producers. The infographic shown here was created as a visual representation to assist both tourism operators and the destination with agritourism development in Peterborough & the Kawarthas.

This shows the relationship between the different factors as they relate to agritourism, including:

• Environment, including animals, crops, and vegetation
• Places, including farmers’ markets, parks, and experiential farms
• Experiences, including U-picks, photography, and webinars
• Economy, including animal production, food manufacturing, and accommodation
• People, including farmers and their families, restaurateurs, cooks, and seasonal staff

Module Three: Elements & Activities of Agritourism

If you can, please take 15 minutes to watch the three videos linked now in the sidebar. These videos are excellent examples of destinations leveraging agritourism and developing unique experiences and connections to local producers and farmers. While watching, pay attention to the main messages, elements of focus, and activities.

Here are the important takeaways for each:

• Video One: In “Cheesemaking in Gruyères with Gerard” the main highlight is the personality behind the farm and cheesemaking process, with Gerard’s voice being key to the value of the experience and the product.
• Video Two: In this bridal tasting video, making a connection between the event, food, and setting is really important for South Pond Farms. As we hear engaged couples explain, the rural context and scenic farm setting make this venue appealing to them, while the use of locally grown foods and well-crafted dishes makes the appeal even stronger.
• Video Three: Participating in an agritourism experience often means learning about an agricultural process. In this Colombian coffee plantation video, part of the experience offered is a behind-the-scenes look at the process, including when to pick the beans to how they are harvested and prepared. This learning experience for visitors is valuable, and it also offers the opportunity for them to connect with all those involved in the operation.

People, Places & Processes

Although there are different understandings of the term agritourism, great agritourism experiences bring together Peoples, Places, and Processes to showcase the histories, cultures, and knowledge behind the food we eat.

The 3-Ps not only relate a visitor’s experience back to a product or moment, but by including people, place, and process elements into your offerings, you provide a better understanding of the histories, cultures, and knowledge within your destination. And this makes for a much higher quality tourism experience.

As learned, agritourism is highly dependent on regional context because there is no worldwide consensus around the term. As such, the approach to developing agritourism experiences will differ from destination to destination.

The most important thing to remember is to be authentic; focus on what makes your business unique and how it connects travellers to the region in which you operate in.

To develop effective agritourism activities, it’s important to be genuine and to feature the people, places, and process that make your experiences unique. But what makes a great agritourism activity?

• special photo-moments;
• interesting stories about the region, its makers, and milestone events;
• connecting with nature;
• opportunities to learn or meet growers and producers; and
• unique mementos and keepsakes.

To help explain, we’re going to cover a few examples of successful agritourism activities and highlight the range and diversity of what these experiences can look like. Be sure to make note of:

• the region and context;
• the setting; meaning, agritourism can take place on a farm, having the visitor participate in and learn about a specific process, but it also includes non-working farm environments, such as an agricultural museum or a farmers’ market; and
• the role and connection between visitors and the people of agritourism: the farmers, growers, and producers.

Examples of Agritourism Activities

The first example is providing travellers with the opportunity to participate in a food production demonstration.

Gunn’s Hill Artisanal Cheese in Oxford County, Ontario is leveraging this approach by hosting cheese making webinars. Visitor get the opportunity to “walk in the shoes of a local cheese maker,” while learning about the process and connecting with the passionate people behind the scenes.

Another example of immersive agritourism is digging for clams in Belliveau Cove, Nova Scotia. Here, visitors are given an opportunity to learn a unique skill, with the experience being further enhanced by a clam tasting afterwards.

As you see, this activity not only highlights a quintessential place in the destination – in this case, the beach – but it also speaks to the heritage and traditions of the region.

Victoria, B.C.’s Glenrosa Restaurant offers visitors a unique farm-to-table dining experience at their on-farm restaurant. While this example doesn’t focus as strongly on the learning of processes, it helps travellers build an understanding of where food comes from and how it is produced.

The experience is more focussed on the product, but place, people and process elements are elaborated on through on-site storytelling such as seasonal menus, the farm’s history, and the role it plays within the destination.

Another on-farm experience is going berry picking. In Les Jardin du Centre Charlevoix, Québec, raspberry picking at a u-pick farm is very popular among urban residents, giving them a reason to get out of the city and visit a rural destination as a day trip.

In relation to travellers, this encourages visitors of an urban destination to explore the smaller communities nearby and interact directly with local growers and the food they produce. Furthermore, activities such as berry or apple picking, can also be extended off-site with transformation webinars; for example, cooking classes on how to make jams or preserves.

An example of an agritourism experience at a non-working farm is visiting an agricultural attraction such as a museum or heritage site. The Melfort & District Museum in Melfort, Saskatchewan is a good example of this type of activity.

The museum offers the opportunity for visitors to observe and learn about agricultural processes from the past, while shedding the light on the heritage and traditions of the region. The experience also connects travellers to the people, past and present, who helped shape the landscape of the community.

The last example of an agritourism activity is foraging for food in Turner Valley, Alberta. Full Circle Tours offers an Edible Plant Walk where participants are educated about the different types of plants you can eat in the wilderness during a hike through the forest. In this instance, connecting the outdoors and nature to agritourism offers travellers a unique experience with the opportunity to learn valuable skills.

Foraging tours can help visitors see the world around them in a new way. And similar to the berry-picking example, these experiences can also be extended off-site with virtual classes and webinars. This type of agritourism also highlights the connection between land and food in an authentic way, while shining the light on the local businesses and community members involved in cultivating that relationship.

Common Agritourism Practices

As you saw, all of the examples offered visitors the opportunity to engage in various types of agritourism activities that involved learning, tasting, interacting, making, and observing. And all of the experiences were developed based on the landscape, history, and culture of each destination.

With that said, the agritourism experiences you develop in your region will depend on who’s behind them, where they take place, and what can be shared.

For example, a destination with a rich heritage and practice of fishing may not have the landscape or businesses to develop u-pick experiences. However, there is potential for local museums, on-boat experiences, and culinary traditions that showcase the unique peoples, places, and processes within a Canadian fishing community.

Module Four: The Agritourist

Who are Agritourists?

One of the objectives of this webinar is to help you better understand the market for agritourism and the types of consumers mostly likely to be interested in the related experiences and activities. Doing so highlights the viability of agritourism as an economic development opportunity and income diversifier for your destinations.

Let’s start by defining an agritourist.

Generally, agritourists are domestic travellers from urban areas close to an agritourism destination. They seek out experiential, life-enriching vacations that involve culture, nature, the outdoors, and learning.

These consumers are also aligned with the current shift toward environmentally-conscious and ‘authentic’ tourism experiences, and they have the growing desire to head outdoors and experience more leisure activities in the country.

In respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and limitations to national and international travel, urban residents are now looking to explore the rural areas around them. This indicates the potential for developing staycation packages and experiences closer to home in less crowded, open air spaces.

More specifically, agritourists are environmentally conscious consumers in their early 40’s with small families. Their income is typically around the national average, and they are predominantly domestic travellers who travel independently instead of as part of a group

Generally speaking, they are interested in learning about where their food comes from through contact with farmers, producers, harvesters, and growers. This includes participating in farm activities, visiting attractions primarily focused on the outdoors, or dining with direct connections to the landscape and cultural practices of a destination.

Where do Agritourists Come From?

Since agritourists are mostly urban residents who live close to rural destinations with agricultural assets, we can look to regional tourists and domestic travellers as the main consumer segments. And unlike foreign visitors, Canadians spent more of their domestic travel budget on food and drink services instead of accommodations.

Furthermore, despite businesses and destinations still working to manage and recover from the impacts of COVID-19, National Tourism Indicators have shown the domestic market in Canada as a strong contributor to the tourism economy.

Based on research from Destination Canada, Domestic Tourism Demand accounted for $64 billion in Canada’s tourism sector in 2019. That’s over half of the $82.2 billion that is produced through tourism activities in Canada overall, which highlights the opportunity for development of agritourism experiences across the country.

What are Agritourists Looking For?

The agritourist is often searching for an authentic experience and the opportunity to engage with tradition and rural hospitality. They are curious, wanting to explore more of what their region has to offer, while seeking life-enriching vacations that involve culture, nature, the outdoors, and learning.

The agritourist values experiential attraction, such as an on-farm dining activity, and they are family-focused, trying to deepen their connection with family and close friends through shared experiences with food and the environment.

Module Five: Agritourism Development

Case Study: South Tyrol, Italy

Now that you have some context on the agritourist and the types of activities they are looking for, let’s turn our attention to a case study that highlights the symbiotic relationship between successful agritourism operators and destination marketing organizations.

The following example is meant to help you identify the main challenges and opportunities of developing agritourism as a means of economic diversification.

South Tyrol is a region in Northern Italy that shares a border with Austria and is known for its “agriturismo” accommodations, rich agricultural heritage, and dramatic landscape within the Dolomite mountain range.

In this instance, accommodation is an essential part of agritourism, which in the regional context is perceived as a limitation to the types of activities considered to be agritourism experiences.

However, the Red Rooster program, a certification that was established in 1997 and governs the criteria, pricing, and membership of agritourism providers in the region, has assisted the South Tyrol with embracing its own definition of agritourism to the benefit of operators and visitors alike.

Since accommodation is an essential part of agritourism in South Tyrol, the types of activities that are considered agritourism are set by and monitored through the Red Rooster Program.

As mentioned, the program governs quality, pricing, and membership of agritourism providers in the region, while its website, Red Rooster.it, lists all their qualifying members to provide agritourists with a one-stop shop when planning a holiday in South Tyrol.

To become a designated Red Rooster Farm, over 30% of raw ingredients used in the the traditional dishes offered to visitors must come from the farm itself. And while other ingredients may be purchased, they should come from the surrounding area.

That said, in 2020, only 41 farms in the whole area fulfilled the criteria to become Red Rooster Farms. However, there are also farms with holiday homes, new farms without classification, holiday flats, and farms with handcrafts that are listed on the site as agritourism providers.

Aside from locally sourced ingredients, the farm holiday criteria set by the Red Rooster program measures the quality and authenticity of an accommodation farm based on:

• hospitality;
• farm-fresh produce;
• a taste of life on a real working farm; and
• a genuine back-to-nature experience.

The goal of the Red Rooster program is to “put people in touch with the rural world of South Tyrol,” meaning connecting agritourists to agritourism experiences in the region. This is shown by not only defining agritourism for the destination’s businesses and operators, but also by acting as a travellers’ resource for consumers interested in visiting.

As seen here, the website allows users to search for experiences related to farm holidays, kid-friendly activities, as well as provides the functionality to search for and book accommodation.

The website also includes an interactive map where visitors can explore options from holiday farms, to worthwhile hiking destinations, and winter activities. This really ties the whole region together, while making it easy for travellers to plan their vacation and develop their own agritourism itineraries.

Click on the link in the sidebar to explore the Red Rooster website on your own.

The Red Rooster program represents a very organized way of setting standards for and controlling the development of agritourism. It helps to maintain quality experiences while providing a direct channel for visitors to book their holidays and plan their activities – all under a clear and comprehensive brand that showcases the diversity of the region.

It also involves a large number tourism operators, businesses, and stakeholders across the region, who benefit from cooperating in a shared understanding of agritourism. That said, in this case, one challenge is coordinating the partnerships across the number of participants involved, from the individual farms to municipal governments, tourism operators, and policy makers.

Of course, the greatest benefit in doing so is creating a strong brand and image for the destination, which is accompanying by a unified voice that reaches farther than its surrounding area.

Needs for Development

What you see here is the visual map of the needs for agritourism development designed from the ”Growing an Agritourism Business and Destination” research done in the State of Colorado.

These three elements – Community, Demand for Agritourism, and Agricultural Context – are connected and exist within a regional context and are influenced by:

• natural amenities such as provincial parks and wildlife;
• scenic surrounding including picturesque drives and outdoor experiences;
• proximity of rural destinations to urban areas;
• number of potential agritourists in relation to the population of surrounding area;
• income of surrounding populations; and
• number of competing agritourism destinations.

Challenges Facing Agritourism

Many of the positive characteristics that differentiate rural areas and communities from their urban counterparts – like their large open spaces, easy access to nature, small settlements, low population density, and agricultural land – are also the cause of the challenges they face.

This includes:

• population decline;
• small labour force; and
• an aging demographic.

As highlighted in the South Tyrol case study, building agritourism requires the participation, coordination, and engagement of a number of stakeholders across the destination. This includes the agricultural and tourism industries, food and drink providers, as well as government.

Before you attempt to grow agritourism in your region, there are a number of challenges to address in order to unify the various parties involved. Let’s take a look at what those challenges are.

The first challenge is ensuring agritourism is defined clearly for all stakeholders in your destinations. With so many factors involved at various levels, it’s crucial to build a collaborative network of partners around a shared understanding of what agritourism specific to the region they operate in.

As shown in the previous examples, this can be led by operators and businesses, as was the case with the u-pick farms in Charlevoix, or by economic and tourism development organizations like Peterborough and the Kawarthas.

The next challenge is building the necessary knowledge and understanding about rules, policies, and regulations. This includes:

• navigating health and safety liabilities around having visitors on working farms;
• the disruption of regular farming activities to accommodate travellers;
• the impact of increased traffic on neighbours and the environment;
• increased costs in production, packaging, as well as business taxes; and
• the need for more resources to develop, enhance, and market new products for tourists.

Transportation challenges around food tourism development are also common in rural and remote regions. Without a reliable public transit system, the types of consumers able to enjoy such destinations are limited to independent, mobile travellers with access to a personal vehicle.

However, this presents an opportunity for destinations to respond with unique transportation solutions that add value to the tourism experience, while also making the destination more accessible. Horses and bicycles are two examples of how some rural communities are combating limited transit.

The third challenge is ensuring the quality and authenticity of agritourism experiences across your destinations.

When consensus and capacity are built at the regional level, parameters of quality and authentic must be considered. This is particularly important when thinking about a whole destination or brand image where different businesses and operators collaborate to market the area with a consistent voice.

The risks associated with pursuing new business ventures through agritourism is another common challenge to destinations. Agritourism is a serious, time-intensive business decision that isn’t always the solution for tourism and agriculture businesses in rural areas.

Agritourism may require significant skills development for some farmers, such as customer service and hospitality or online marketing and ecommerce. And not all businesses have the time, capacity, and resources to invest in the necessary learning that facilitates agritourism.

The fifth challenge to developing agritourism is presenting a genuine image of farm life while managing and meeting traveller expectations. Unfortunately, a lot of potential agritourists haven’t had many impactful experiences with agricultural places and processes, so it’s important to set realistic expectations for consumers ahead of time.

As important, although agritourism has the potential to elevate understanding of agriculture and promote learning on the visitors’ side, don’t forget they are still vacationing and looking to relax and enjoy their experiences. While they are interested in connecting to rural landscapes and ways of life, most visitors aren’t too keen to get really down-and-dirty with agricultural tasks.

Opportunities in Agritourism

Of course, wherever there are challenges there are also opportunities.

When done well, agritourism development and consensus building can bring different agritourism providers under a common platform—such as a regional website or promotional scheme. Doing ensures an authentic, quality visitor experience that meets legal and safety standards as well as delivering a broader narrative and image for the region.

Particularly relevant for small-scale agriculture, one of the opportunities of developing agritourism is it generates additional on-farm income and thus contributes to farm resilience.

As mentioned before, on-farm diversification doesn’t happen overnight. In the early stages, this might mean just offering on-site sales; however, with time, new agritourism ventures in the shape of experiences or collaborative products become more viable.

Another benefit to developing agritourism is it promotes the understanding of agricultural practices and supports education about the environment and local food systems. Through the promotion of learning and understanding of food production, the people, places and processes involved, agritourism increases knowledge about the agriculture of a region.

Agritourism is also seen as an instrument to stimulate environmental education and a way to experience the relationship between human and nature.

Developing agritourism also presents an opportunity to protect and promote heritage and cultural traditions across Canada. Reusing or repurposing an underutilized agricultural structure becomes a real opportunity to revitalize a business or destination at large.

Saskatchewan is an example of a destination seizing this type of opportunity: some of the unused grain silos in the region have been converted into cabins, which breathed new life into the area and brought in additional income for local businesses.

Enhancing intercultural interactions and bridging rural-urban divides is another opportunity of developing agritourism in Canada.

Agritourism is a sustainable way to diversify travellers to larger urban destinations into the smaller communities nearby. And as consensus and capacity are built, the identification of local assets, traditions and regional attractions can have a positive impact on community pride.

As such, when done in an inclusive way, agritourism presents a holistic image of a destination’s unique histories, places, people, and processes. Additionally, when developed with the needs of agritourists in mind, agritourism has the potential to attract new consumers to an area.

Finally, Agritourism supports the continuity of local businesses and helps secure family ownership for generations to come.

Agritourism brings innovation to agricultural businesses and tourism operators, which contributes to the resilience of a destination and its stakeholders. Consider younger generations interested in technology and social media, and how their skills and knowledge can be leveraged to enhance customer service and visitor experiences. This might include developing creative content online telling the unique stories of a region, or capturing compelling imagery to support the development of a new website.

Additional opportunities to agritourism development include:

• shifting a portion of farm revenue to tourism and reducing dependence on volatile agricultural markets;
• repurposing underutilized farm resources such as lower grade land or older buildings;
• creating direct contact between farmers and tourists to allow farmers to tell their own stories; and
• encouraging consumers to seek out domestic agricultural products upon their return from an agritourism experience.

As previously mentioned, it takes a unified front from all the relevant stakeholders to successfully build agritourism in your destinations.

A region with tourism operators, businesses, and government working together creates an atmosphere ripe for innovation and growth. While a collaborative network of partners allows individual components, such as policies & regulations and sales & marketing messages, to be clearly defined across the destination.

In the end, building agritourism means building relationships between:

• farmers;
• tour operators;
• economic development officers;
• policy maker
• guides; and
• food councils.

Since we know working together is a key piece of successful agritourism development, creating a strong relationship between agritourism operators and destination marketing organizations is incredibly valuable.

Doing so helps stakeholders not only pinpoint the opportunities and challenges facing the development of agritourism in their destinations, but it also highlights other important considerations, such as:

• land use and planning policies;
• seasonal constraints;
• availability of products;
• mobility in and around the destination;
• critical mass of businesses or market saturation; and
• the need for additional tourism offers.

Module Six: Conclusion

The Future of Agritourism

The future of agritourism is bright in Canada, showing opportunity for rural destinations and tourism operators to connect visitors with unique agricultural experiences and the peoples, places, and processes behind the scenes.

That said, inclusive decision making is the key to developing agritourism successfully, and creating sustainable growth must involve cooperation and bottom-up initiatives between all levels of governance: local, regional, provincial, and federal.

It’s also important to note, those considering agritourism ventures require entrepreneurial skills and should approach the assessment and development as a business venture; all while being conscious of the differences between running a farming business and running a tourism business.

Due to the value agritourists place on experience and authenticity, ensuring quality of service and products throughout your particular region is key to successful agritourism development.

In terms of a national framework, ‘Canada’s Tourism Vision’ was published in 2017, with action item 15, Growing Culinary Tourism, corresponding with the potential for joining the growth of food tourism to the growth of agritourism. And in order to connecting quality of experiences to the growth of agritourism and culinary tourism, the federal government has announced the development of a national culinary tourism strategy.

Conclusion: Webinar Learning Outcomes

And that concludes the Growing Agritourism webinar. You should now be able to confidently:

• differentiate between culinary tourism and other forms of tourism, while identifying examples of culinary experiences relevant to your region;
• describe the breadth and diversity of businesses involved in culinary tourism through deconstructing the culinary tourism value chain; and
• explain to tourism operators and stakeholders why culinary tourism is a vital component in servicing the needs of travellers.

You should also be able to:

• connect agritourism to culinary tourism, explaining why the former concept has not been universally defined;
• characterize the agritourist and generalize the types of activities associated with agritourism;
• defend the use of agritourism as an economic diversification strategy for rural agricultural communities; and
• understand the challenges and opportunities relating to the development of agritourism experiences.

Thank you for your participation. Be sure to check out other culinary tourism webinars offered in the Elevating Canadian Experiences content hub.

For more information, or if you have any questions, please visit culinarytourismalliance.com.