Growing An Agritourism Business . .& Destination In .
Growing an Agritourism Business . .& Destination in Mountains and MesaProject Partners:Sarah Low, USDA-ERSDiane Gaede, University of Northern ColoradoPenny Leff, Shermain Hardesty & Marcella Valentine – University ofCaliforniaDawn Thilmany, Rebecca Hill, Martha Sullins & Anders Van Sandt –Colorado State UniversityFunding of this research project by USDA/AFRI Project #2014-68006-21842 is gratefully acknowledged.
Overview An Overview of Agritourism in Colorado Marketing & Operator Insights Community-Based Agritourism Development
What is agritourism?Direct to consumer salesEducationOutdoor recreationEntertainment and events
the businesses have realized they’re in it together as much as they are competing,leading to the cooperative efforts of building different wine and beer trails throughthe valley.Walker agreed this communal effort is crucial to understanding the industry. Sheadded that with more attractions, people come in from farther out if there is more todo in a day.“Wineries want to be able to send people elsewhere,” she said. “Networkingbetween agritourism businesses is important so they can make a day out of it fortourists.”
Leveraging Your StrengthsCommunityWhat business attributes,and market channels canyou take advantage of?AgOperationSuccessfulAgritourismHow can you take advantageof your community’slocation?Recognize what activitiestravelers in your regiondemandAgritourismDemand
Place Matters for Agritourism
Agritourism business developmentin the USUS Agritourism 28,575 farms reporting 949,323,000 Down from 33,161 farms But up from 704,038,000 in 2012 (35% increase)Colorado 1,056 farms up from 864 in 2012 64 million up from 28 million (127% increase) 3rd highest in the US (behind Texas and California)
Updated 2017 Census NumbersSome activity in almost every West Slope county 34 Mesa farms reported 343,000 and 42 Montrose reported 439,000 La Plata over 1 million from 35 farms Some counties have no data/too little to shareSignificant activity in many counties Eagle has 10 farms reporting 2.4 million (up from 112,000) Moffat had 69 counties reporting 1.8 millionWe should focus on what is catalyzing growth in several counties Grand is a major driver with 27 farms reporting 3.8 million (up from 2.2 million) Garfield has 35 farms reporting almost 3 million (up from 663,000) Delta grew from 21 to 52 farms between 2007 and 2012 293,000 to over 1 million in revenues
Exploring Agritourism HotSpots Natural Amenities Proximity toNational Park Rural areas /- Regions Per capita income Scenic bywaysSuccessful Agritourism: Fruit, grapes, nuts, specialtylivestock Value added products Drivable from towns/cities Scenic surroundings Drivable from National Parks Experienced farmers and ranchers
Familiarity with Agby Traveler Type
Role of Agritourism in Most RecentTripSpontaneous8%Miles Traveled, by Importance ofAgritourism to Most Recent TripAdd-On20%Primary72%
Market-Based Economies:Supply & Demand Set cialMarketsPcDemandQnQsQcQuantity
What do we know about demand?PDifferent Slopes – Primary TravelersEnt./EventsD’’D’DTripsEducation &Direct Sales
Insights from Colorado’sAgritourism Producers
What did we learn about agritourismoperators and their businesses? Three levels of business profitability:1. 1,000 per year (35%)2. 1,000- 9,999 per year (33%)3. 10,000 per year (32%) Age of operator and education level were notimportant indicators of profitabilityo CO operators’ average age was 55;o Most had 2- or 4-year college degrees
Nearly 75% of visitors tobusinesses anchored bydirect sales are localSame countyNeighboring countyOther ATbusinessesOther regions same stateDS businessesOther states in USOther countriesPercent of visitors to business01020Annual visitors, range304050Ave. annual number ofvisitorsDirect sales as primary ATbusiness10 – 17,2122,937Other AT businesses10 – 40,0006,12160
Income from ag & agritourismPercent40ofoperations35Gross revenue from agGross revenue from AgritourismProfit from Agritourism302520151050Less than 1,000 1,000 - 4,999 5,000 24,999 25,000 99,999 100,000 499,999 50% had more than 100,000 in sales from ag (7% 1M) 40% had revenue from AT exceeding 100,000 More than 1/3 made less than 1,000 in annual profit from AT 500,000
More than half of Colorado’s farms and ranches relyon direct sales of agritourism products and servicesOf those DS producers:Primary source of agritourismrevenuePercent ofrespondentsDirect sales56%Entertainment/ Special Events13%Accommodations9%Diversified8%Outdoor recreation6%Educational activities6%Other activities3%Agritourism producers’ primary market activities Producers’ stated motivations: ensure farm/ranch legacy forheirs (66%) better connect farm/ranch withcustomers (60%) improve family financialsituation (50%) Mean AT expenses 20,500 47% say they made less than 2,500 per year in profit in 2014
Enterprise diversification may change withexperienceNewer businesses ( 5 ed businesses (20 n16%Directsales42%Accommodations16%
What doesdoes successsuccess lookWhatlook like?like?Able to support/work with otherlocal businessesFeel integrated into communityMore positive outlook for future asfarmer/rancher 1,000Satisfied with current ag operations 10,000 1,000- 9,999Family's quality of life improvedOverall farm/ranch profitabilityimproved0.001.002.003.004.005.00
Community resources contributing to success1Neighboring farms/adjacent landowners3.232Local eating and dining places3.193Other local tourism, recreation & retail businesses3.184Farm or wine trail, agritourism association3.055Tourism bureau, visitors center, chamber of commerce3.026Local motels, hotels, B&Bs, campgrounds2.937Small Business Development Centers, University Extension,other educators2.528County/municipal planning and zoning dept.1.97Other useful resources agritourism operators reported: Schools Forest Service Partnering with local businesses Recreation District Farmers market
Most important community resources,by region
Expenditures:Where is traveler money going?National travelersWestern agritouristsShopping/gifts 75.26Shopping/gifts 108.08Agritourismsite 200.22Meals 196.48Recreation 74.29Meals 93.41Recreation 138.96 443.52 443.1845% ofexpendituresonagritourism
Overall Western region travelers spent anaverage of 450.54 on lodging for agritourism; Compared to national travelers who spend 971.58 on lodgingAmong Western region agritourists, however:AgritouristNo.respondentsPercent ofsampleAverage totallodging costs Primary72072% 483.22 Add-on20420% 357.98768% 397.93 Spontaneous1000 450.54
Member Benefits and Pricing OptionsWe are farmers promoting and advocating for farmers. We welcome all working farms,ranches and vineyards offering overnight accommodations.The association is more than just a website. We offer all paid members support in bestpractices, accreditation, insurance, regulatory issues, a private member forum, andmore.
Promotional Objectives Stimulate sales Differentiate product offerings in varyingmarkets Share information Accentuate value of product Stabilize seasonal demandSource: Lou Pelton, David Strutton, & James Lumpkin. 1997.Marketing Channels: A Relationship Management Approach, pp 99-109.
Perception of Marketing StrategyEffectiveness:Percent of respondents rating each strategy "effective" or "very effective"word of mouth, recommendations from customersweb sitefeature story (TV, radio, newspaper, magazine)referrals from other businessesdirect mail or email to customersFacebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, boosted postshighway sign listing business *sign outside businessprint brochures, fliers, postersfarm or wine trail or agritourism associationregional or state tourism guide or web siteTripAdvisor, Yelp reviewspaid advertising in print, online or radiochamber of commerce or visitors bureau referrals0%California* Difference significant at 90% confidence level20%40%Colorado60%80%100%120%
Information sources used by agritourists(from National Survey of Agritourism Visitors)Referrals from otherbusinesses3%Sign outside businesses5%Highway signage listingthe business5%Print, online or radio ads5%Word of mouth andrecommendationsfrom family/friends20%Website17%Print materials7%Direct mail/email4%Chamber of Commerce orVisitor's Bureau4%Tourism guide6%Social Media10%Feature story in media5%Trip Advisor or Yelp reviews 8%
New Colorado Region Brands
Branding andStrategies
Discover yourregional/local assets
A Look at Colorado & Western US:Rural Entrepreneurs and tourism.localfoodeconomics.com/
An Example Assignment
THE COLLEGE ofAGRICULTURAL SCIENCESLearn more:FoodSystems.colostate.eduShare on Twitter#COFoodBlueprint
Project Overview: Research, Instruction,Outreach1. Multi-faceted research approacha. Spatial analysisb. Traveler survey-travel cost, traveler behavior, choice set for attributevaluationc. Producer survey-operator characteristics, personal, business andcommunity-level opportunities and constraints2. Instructiona. Two undergraduate courses (UNC)b. Three, 2-credit graduate courses-hosted at CSU3. Outreach and engagementa. Community-based case studiesb. Website and fact sheets (http://agritourism.localfoodeconomics.com/)c. Workshops
4 Farm or wine trail, agritourism association 3.05 5 Tourism bureau, visitors center, chamber of commerce 3.02 6 Local motels, hotels, B&Bs, campgrounds 2.93 7 Small Business Development Centers, University Extension, other educators 2.52 8 County/municipal planning and zoning dept. 1.97 Other useful resources agritourism operators reported .
“Level I Agritourism” is Agritourism on Agritourism Property ten (10) acres or larger that is limited to (i) twenty single-day Agritourism events per year with no more than thirty (30) guests per event; and (ii) three single-day Agritourism events per year involving guests in excess of thirty (30), but no more than one
During this session attendees will learn the history of American agritourism, why it is growing, and how it can affect your business. Attendees will explore agritourism hazards and insurance industry challenges as well as discuss exposure management for agritourism hazards including site safety, products and services,
Overview of Agritourism in New Jersey The survey found that 21.5% of New Jersey farms offered some form of agritourism during 2006 (Table 1). Considering that the 2007 Census of Agriculture identified 10,327 farms, it is therefore estimated that roughly 2,220 farms are involved in agritourism.
AGRITOURISM EVENTS An overview of the three week-long agritourism events follows, starting with the one held in Samoa in November 2014, then the Tongan event, and lastly the regional event hosted by Fiji in 2015. The events involved different sessions and participants, but the following activities were held in all three.
Virginia Approximately 1,400 agritourism operations in Virginia 56% open year round 35% have been opened five years or less In 2015, visitors to agritourism operations spent an estimated 1.5 billion throughout the state 17% of this t
acquainted with unique destination features and to promote the destination on its basis. Kim & Brown (2012) suggested that the planner of a destination could get more benefits by having a better and deep knowledge of destination features that generates positive experiences to the tourists and influence them to revisit the destination.
Erie County” (October 2007) identified agritourism as a prime opportunity for positioning the Southtowns as a distinctive tourism destination. Among its key recommendations was a survey of farms to fully evaluate the area’s agritourism offerings and visitor-readiness.
courts interpret laws, adjudicate dis-putes under laws, and at times even strike down laws as violating the fun-damental protections that the Consti-tution guarantees all Americans. At the same time, millions of Americans transact their day-to-day affairs with-out turning to the courts. They, too, rely upon the legal system. The young
