Business Commons^™

The Role Of Aquatourism In Sustaining Maine’S Working Waterfronts, Caroline Paras, Tracy S. Michaud

Maine Policy Review

Maine tourism relies heavily on the iconic imagery of working waterfronts, including harbors bobbing with lobster boats surrounded by shingled shacks in a rainbow of buoys. Adapted from agritourism, aquatourism is an experience that engages visitors with the landscape and stories of those who fish. According to the literature on the Experience Economy, the emotions generated by such experiences can translate into sales in real time as well as behavioral intentions to purchase in the future. What role can aquatourism play in sustaining working waterfronts? Using a mixed methods approach, this research study utilizes interviews from both producers and consumers …

Go Pick Me Out A Winner: Visitor Perceptions And Priorities Regarding Operational Attributes At U-Pick Farms In Western New York, Nicholas Pitas, Ya-Ling Chen

The Journal of Extension

This study seeks to identify visitor priorities for and perceptions of operational attributes at U-pick farms. Using a survey of farm visitors in the Rochester/Finger Lakes region, we applied importance-performance analysis to identify priorities, and the repositioning framework to create strategies for addressing them. Our results indicate that U-pick visitors generally perceive high levels of service quality, especially on attributes that they perceive as most important. Priorities for improvement include produce-related factors (price and availability of specific varieties) and visit logistics (information to plan a visit). Real, psychological, and associative repositioning strategies for Extension professionals and U-pick operators are discussed.

Farmers’ Markets & College Students: Shaping Our Shared Community And Bridging The Barrier With On-Campus Interaction, Emma Grace Vaughn

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This project studies the relationship between college students and farmers' markets, with the goal of overcoming known barriers of student participation. A survey conducted at an on-campus farmers' market, Market on the Avenue, details the impact of bringing these events to Western Kentucky University and looks towards the improvement of future markets. The purpose of this evaluation is to understand how effectively this event bridges the known barriers inhibiting WKU student participation in farmers’ markets, and to develop survey data into recommendations for improvement.

Agritourism Potential As A Perspective In Kosovo, Ruzhdi Matoshi

UBT International Conference

Tourism development is a broadly diversified activity from the rest of economic sectors. While in the economy a competition between the sectors is a key to better selection and specialization, tourism in general has some exceptions arising from the state support due to the importance this sector has in promoting the country abroad, through promotion, subsidies and programs, including intrastate programs and from the European Union. The main reason behind such a support lies on the needs of people for holidays, relax, health and food. The Republic of Kosovo has an area of 10.887 km2 and a population of 1.8 …

Bicycle Tourism Plan For Economic Development: A Template For Rural Agricultural Towns And A Case Study For The City Of Winters, California, Marisa Rene Lee

Master's Theses

Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that is healthy, non-invasive, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable. It allows freedom, mobility, and sightseeing potential that is not made possible by other modes of transit. Thousands of bicycle tourists travel from all over the globe annually to explore California on touring bikes via established cycling routes and robust determination. Thousands of additional domestic and international visitors take weekend trips, plan family vacations, travel for business, or tour California from abroad, many of whom are excellent candidates for local and regional bicycle touring at a more gentle intensity level.

The increasing popularity and …

Cattle Ranchers And Agritourism In Oregon, Usa: Motivations, Challenges And Opportunities From The Landowner's Perspective, Fernanda Pegas, Claudia Ollenburg, Joanne Tynon

Claudia Ollenburg

Cattle ranches are cultural icons in many countries. Still, high costs to maintain ranches may force some ranchers to sell their operation. One income alternative is to diversify into agritourism. Empirical research on ranch agritourism is scarce. This study provides an overview of, and assesses the motivations for, and challenges to diversifying into agritourism from the ranchers’ perspective. A survey of 400 Oregon ranchers in 2003 found that 21% of 177 respondents promoted agritourism and that it contributed 8% to their annual household income compared to an 84% contribution from livestock production. Working on the ranch and hunting / fishing …

Pb1787-Liability And Agritourism - Implications Of Tennessee's 2009 Legislation, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Marketing, Finances and Value-Added Agriculture

Agritourism is a growing industry in Tennessee, as farmers seek new enterprises to generate revenue and consumers seek educational and recreational opportunities or farm-fresh products. A combination of agriculture and tourism, agritourism creates opportunities as well as challenges.

Liability is a signifi cant concern for farmers who operate agritourism enterprises. A landowner who opens his or her land to the public faces the risk that he or she could be considered liable if someone is injured while on the property.

Over the last few years, several states have enacted legislation to limit the liability of agritourism operators with regard to …

Regional Signatures And Trends In The Farm Tourism Sector, Claudia Ollenburg

Claudia Ollenburg

Farm tourism is an old phenomenon with new economic and social significance for farming, tourism and rural communities. Many features of the farm tourism sector are similar worldwide, but there are distinct regional differences. The portfolios of farm tourism products offered, in particular, differ significantly both between and within continents, producing regional signatures analogous to those in other sectors of the tourism industry. Farm tourism in Europe is recognizably different from farm tourism in North America. Within Europe, there are differences between the livestock landscapes and farmstays of the colder North and Alps, and the vineyard and olive landscapes of …

Montana's Agritourism And Recreation Business: Ten Years Later , Lee Rademaker, Norma P. Nickerson, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

There is a wide variety of recreation and tourism activities on farms and ranches, ranging from Fish, Wildlife and Parks Block Management to cabin rentals to horseback rides. To further understand farm and ranch recreation businesses, the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research conducted a survey of Montana farms and ranches currently involved in tourism or recreation or thinking about starting in that field. The purpose of this investigation was to gain a clearer picture of what is currently happening on farms and ranches in terms of recreation and tourism activities, to gauge what may be happening in the near …

Stated Economic And Social Motivations Of Australian Farm Tourism Operators, Claudia Ollenburg, Ralf Buckley

Claudia Ollenburg

Farm tourism enterprises combine the commercial constraints of regional tourism, the nonfinancial features of family businesses, and the inheritance issues of family farms. They have theoretical significance in regional tourism geography and economics, family tourism business dynamics, and rural diversification. We examined motivations of farm tourism operators throughout Australia using both qualitative and quantitative methods. In contrast to Europe and the United States, social motivations are marginally more important overall than economic motivations. For most operators, however, both are important; and different motivations are dominant for different types of farm landholders and at different stages in farm, family, and business …

Pb1754-Agritourism In Focus - A Guide For Tennessee Farmers, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Marketing, Finances and Value-Added Agriculture

This guide has been developed to assist Tennessee farmers and agri-entrepreneurs in evaluating agritourism enterprise opportunities, planning agritourism enterprises, and dealing with issues and obstacles faced by existing agritourism enterprises. It also serves as a resource for professionals working with existing or potential agritourism entrepreneurs. While this guide cannot guarantee success in planning and managing an agritourism enterprise, the concepts it contains are important in enhancing the potential for success.

This guide contains 10 chapters and an appendix dealing with topics critical to the success of agritourism operations. It is designed to be interactive, allowing users to work through exercises …

The Business Of Agritourism/Recreation In Montana, Rita J. Black, Norma P. Nickerson

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Presents data from a convenience sample of farms/ranches in Montana that operate recreation businesses. Specific data include agricultural demographic information (e.g., acreage and income), recreation business data (e.g., popularity of activities offered, reasons for operating a recreation business, obstacles), and marketing information (e.g., origin of guests).